Abstract
In the current South African socio-political framework children have been afforded the highest priority within government, via affirmation of their rights. Not only have the rights and needs of children been entrenched in the development strategies of the government, but children themselves have been guaranteed socio-economic rights and protection from abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Subsequently, knowledge and information on the well-being of children have become important pursuits. It has also become increasingly important to obtain an understanding of what children regard as essential to their well-being. The current study explores children’s subjective perceptions of well-being, with a specific focus on elucidating the discourses that children use to assign meaning to well-being. A qualitative study was conducted using a series of focus group discussions with 56 children between the ages of 13 and 15 from rural and urban geographical locations. A discourse analysis reveals a complex interplay between the social environment and the children’s sense of well-being. Three key thematic domains were identified, namely, personal safety, infrastructural deficiencies, and psycho-social functioning. Central discourses to emerge from these thematic domains were closely interrelated and mutually influencing and focussed on, personal safety, the social environment and a stable self as ‘non-negotiables’ of well-being, helplessness and vulnerability, desensitisation, marginalisation, (non)acknowledgement and (dis)respect. A notable finding emerging from the study was the extent to which the participants’ discursive constructions of well-being were ideologically configured. The findings raise important considerations for educational and intervention programmes and policies aimed at children and youth.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976). Social indicators of well-being. New York: Plenum.
Bradburn, N. M. (1969). The structure of psychological well-being. Chicago: Aldine.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101.
Burr, V. (1995). An introduction to social constructionism. London: Routledge.
Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., & Rodgers, W. L. (1976). The quality of American life: Perceptions, evaluations and satisfaction. New York: Russel Sage.
Casas, F. (2011). Subjective social indicators and child and adolescent well-being. Child Indicators Research, 4(4), 555–575.
Casas, F., Bello, A., González, M., & Aligué, M. (2013). Children’s subjective well-being measured using a composite index: What impacts Spanish first-year secondary education students’ subjective well-being? Child Indicators Research. doi:10.1007/s12187-013-9182-x.
Casas, F., González, M., Navarro, D., & Aligué, M. (2012). Children as advisors of their researchers: Assuming a different status for children. Child Indicators Research. doi:10.1007/s12187-012-9168-0.
Casas, F., Tiliouine, H., & Figuer, C. (2014). The subjective well-being of adolescents from two different cultures: Applying three versions of the PWI in Algeria and Spain. Social Indicators Research, 115, 637–651.
Cummins, R. A. (1996). The domains of life satisfaction: An attempt to order chaos. Social Indicators Research, 38, 303–328.
Cummins, R. & Lau, A. (2005). Personal Well-Being Index – School Children (PWI-SC) 3 rd Edition, School of Psychology, Deakin University
Diener, E. (2006). Guidelines for national indicators of subjective well-being and ill-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 7, 397–404.
Diener, E. (2013). The remarkable changes in the science of subjective well-being. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 8, 663–666.
Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., & Oishi, S. (2005). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and life satisfaction. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 63–73). New York: Oxford University Press.
Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2), 276–302.
Duncan, N.T.F. (1993). Discourses on racism. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of the Western Cape, Bellville.
Edwards, D., & Potter, J. (1992). Discursive psychology. London: Sage.
Edwards, D., & Potter, J. (2001). Discursive psychology. In A. McHoul & M. Rapley (Eds.), How to analyse talk in institutional settings (pp. 12–24). London: Continuum.
Fattore, T., Mason, J., & Watson, E. (2007). Children’s conceptualisation(s) of their well-being. Social Indicators Research, 80, 5–29.
Fattore, T., Mason, J., & Watson, E. (2012). Locating the child centrally as subject in research: Towards a child interpretation of well-being. Child Indicators Research, 5, 423–435.
Huebner, E. S. (1991). Initial development of the Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale. School Psychology International, 12, 231–240.
Huebner, E. S. (1994). Preliminary development and validation of a Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale of children. Psychological Assessment, 6(2), 149–158.
James, A., & Prout, A. (Eds.). (1997). Constructing and reconstructing childhood: Contemporary issues in the sociological study of childhood. London: Routeledge.
Jones, J.L. (2011). Adolescent well-being in West Africa: Subjective well-being of adolescents in Cote d’Ivoire. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Tulane University, Louisiana, United States of America.
Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. California: Sage.
Land, K. C., Lamb, V. L., Meadows, S. O., & Taylor, A. (2007). Measuring trends in well-being: An evidence based approach. Social Indicators Research, 80, 105–132.
Leoschut, L., & Burton, P. (2006). How rich the rewards: Results of the 2005 national youth victimisation survey. Monograph series number 1. Cape Town: Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention.
Overstreet, S., & Braun, S. (2000). Exposure to community violence and post-traumatic stress symptoms: Mediating factors. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 70(2), 263–271.
Piekarska, A. (2000). School stress, teachers’ abusive behaviours, and children’s coping strategies. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24(11), 1443–1449.
Pollard, E. L., & Davidson, L. (2001). Foundations of child well-being. (UNESCO Education Sector Monograph No. 18). USA: Centre for Child Well-Being.
Pollard, E. L., & Lee, P. D. (2003). Child well-being: A systematic review of the literature. Social Indicators Research, 61(1), 59–78.
Pomerantz, A. (1986). Extreme case formulations: A new way of legitimating claims. In G. Button, P. Drew, & J. Heritage (Eds.), Human studies (Interaction and Language Use Special Issue) (9, pp. 219–230).
Potter, J., & Wetherell, M. (1987). Discourse and social psychology: Beyond attitudes and behaviour. London: Sage.
Potter, J., & Wetherell, M. (1995). Discourse analysis. In J. A. Smith, R. Harre, & L. Van Langenhove (Eds.), Rethinking methods in psychology (pp. 80–92). London: Sage.
Proctor, C., Linley, P. A., & Maltby, J. (2009). Youth life satisfaction measures: a review. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(2), 128–144.
Qvortrup, J. (1994). Childhood matters: An introduction. In J. Qvortrup, M. Bardy, G. Sgritta, & H. Winterberger (Eds.), Childhood matters: Social theory, practice and politics (pp. 1–23). Aldershot: Averbury.
Republic of South Africa. (2005). Children’s Act, No. 38 of 2005. Pretoria: Government Printers.
Republic of South Africa. (2007). Children’s Amendment Act (No. 41 of 2007). Pretoria: Government Printers.
Republic of South Africa. (2008). Child Justice Act. Pretoria: Government Printers.
Savahl, S. (2010). Ideological constructions of childhood. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of the Western Cape. Bellville.
Savahl, S., Casas, F., Adams, S., Noordien, Z. (forthcoming). Testing two measures of well-being amongst a sample of children in the Western Cape.
Seligson, J., Huebner, E. S., & Valois, R. F. (2003). Preliminary validation of the Brief Multidimensional Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS). Social Indicators Research, 61(2), 121–145.
September, R. L., & Savahl, S. (2009). Children’s perspectives on child well-being. Social Work Practitioner/Researcher, 21(1), 23–40.
Shaw, R. L. (2004). Making sense of violence: a study of narrative meaning. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 1(2), 131–151.
The Office on the Rights of the Child – The Presidency. (2001). Children in 2001: A Report on the state of the Nation’s Children. Pretoria: The Office on the Rights of the Child – The Presidency.
Thornton, A. (2001). Introduction and overview. In A. Thornton (Ed.), The well-being of children and families: Research and data needs (pp. 3–27). Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
United Nations General Assembly. (1989). Adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. New York: United Nations.
Willig, C. (2000). A discourse dynamic approach to the study of subjectivity. Theory and Psychology, 10(4), 547–570.
Zaff, J. F., Smith, D. C., Rogers, M. F., Leavitt, C. H., Halle, T. G., & Bornstein, M. H. (2003). Holistic well-being and the developing child. In M. H. Bornstein, L. Davidson, C. L. M. Keyes, & K. Moore (Eds.), Well-being: Positive development across the life course (pp. 23–32). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad and the National Research Foundation for financial and institutional support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Savahl, S., Malcolm, C., Slembrouk, S. et al. Discourses on Well-Being. Child Ind Res 8, 747–766 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-014-9272-4
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-014-9272-4