Socio-Economic Status and Well-being among Early Adolescents

Abstract

McAllister (2005) defined Well-being as “The absence of illness or pathology with subjective and objective dimensions” and states that Well-being can be measured at individual or societal level, accounting for the elements of life satisfaction that cannot be influenced by economic growth. Socio-Economic Status (SES) is defined as the hierarchy of social positions which describes a person’s social standing or class (Graetz, 1995) and gender refers to the array of socially constructed roles and relationships, personality traits, attitudes and behaviours that the society ascribes (Moser, 2003). The impact of Socio-Economic Status on Well-being studies the perception of the individual towards his/her Well-being in terms of their stand in the socio-economic strata of the society. There are no significant studies in this area of research correlating Socio-Economic Status, gender and Well-being of early adolescents and hence the study would be of importance. This research focuses on the measurement of the impact of Socio-Economic Status and gender on the Well-being of early adolescents, aged between 14-16 years. A purposive sample consisting of 200 adolescents (n=200), 100 boys and 100 girls from government and private schools in South India would be selected for the study. The Socio-Economic Status Scale (SESS) and the Personal Well-being Index- School Children (PWI-SC) will be used to measure Socio-Economic Status and Well-being respectively. The obtained data would be analysed using mean, t-test, and one-way ANOVA. The Socio-Economic Status is expected to affect the Well-being of children in terms of their personal as well as environmental conditions. The perception of Well-being is expected to be higher among girls than boys. The study will provide an insight of how the Socio-Economic Status of the family and gender will affect the perceived Well-being of the early adolescent. The study will serve as adequate data in understanding factors affecting Well-being and in devising ways of improving the basic needs of adolescents. It can help in the formulation of policies towards adolescents, in designing their educational curriculum, etc. It can also help in the designing of intervention for ‘at-risk’ adolescents.