Skip to main content

Influence of Vulnerability on Subjective Well-Being and Self-Perceived Safety Among Bangladeshi Children

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of Children’s Risk, Vulnerability and Quality of Life

Abstract

This chapter focuses on children’s vulnerability manifested in economic and social context. Key aims are to examine the influence of economic and peer-group vulnerability on children’s subjective well-being and feelings of safety—a key domain of well-being. Data for this paper were obtained from over 2000 primary and secondary school children aged between 10 and 14 years in Bangladesh. For data collection, a questionnaire was developed and administered as part of the third Wave of the Children’s Worlds International Survey on Children’s Well-Being (ISCWeB). Children’s economic and peer-group vulnerability are found to have statistically significant influence on their assessment about their safety and subjective well-being. Vulnerability in material resource and peer-group victimisation appear to have respectively the first and second highest effect on self-perceived safety and children’s subjective well-being. Lower level of safety and well-being are associated significantly with those children who reported higher vulnerability in both material deprivation and peer-group relations. These findings are discussed in the context of previous empirical studies on child well-being, safety, and vulnerability. Suggestions for future research are also put forward.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Action for Children. (2014). Paying the Price: can we help the most vulnerable young people avoid unmanageable debt? https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/media/3224/paying-the-price-can-we-help-the-most-vulnerable-young-people-avoid-unmanageable-debt.pdf. Accessed 27 September 2020.

  • Alexander, B. (2019). Children’s well-being and vulnerability. Ethics and Social Welfare, 13(3), 211–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arseneault, L. (2018). Annual research review: The persistent and pervasive impact of being bullied in childhood and adolescence: implications for policy and practice. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59(4), 405–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernal, J., Frongillo, E. A., Herrera, H. A., & Rivera, J. A. (2012). Children live, feel, and respond to experiences of food insecurity that compromise their development and weight status in peri-urban Venezuela. Journal of Nutrition, 142, 1343–1349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernal, J., Frongillo, E. A., Herrera, H. A., & Rivera, J. A. (2014). Food insecurity in children but not in their mothers is associated with altered activities, school absenteeism, and stunting. Journal of Nutrition, 144, 1619–1629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boivin, M., Hymel, S., & Bukowski, W. (1995). The roles of social withdrawal, peer rejection, and victimization by peers in predicting loneliness and depressed mood in children. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 765–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, J. (2011). The well-being of children in the United Kingdom. Policy Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concern. Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casas, F., & Rees, G. (2015). Measures of children’s subjective well-being: Analysis of the potential for cross-national comparisons. Child Indicators Research, 8(1), 49–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Children’s Worlds. (2020). International survey on children’s well-being. (http://www.isciweb.org/).

  • Child Well-Being Survey. (2016). Divisional Reports. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF Bangladesh 2016. Dhaka: Bangladesh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conger, R. D., Ge, X. J., Elder, G. H., Lorenz, F. O., & Simons, R. L. (1994). Economic stress, coercive family process, and developmental problems of adolescents. Child Development., 65, 541–561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Côté-Lussier, C., Jackson, J., Kestens, Y., Henderson, M., & Barnett, T. A. (2014). A Child’s view: Social and physical environmental features differentially predict parent and child perceived neighbourhood safety. Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 92(1), 10–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, R., & Lau, A. (2005). Personal wellbeing index–school children (3rd ed.). School of Psychology, Deakin University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniel, B. (2010). Concepts of adversity, risk, vulnerability and resilience: A discussion in the context of the ‘child protection system’. Social Policy and Society, 9(2), 231–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DfES. (2003). Every child matters. Department for Education and Skills.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Lucas, R. (2015). National accounts of subjective well-being. American Psychologist, 70, 234–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fekkes, M., Pijpers, F. I. M., & Verloove-Vanhorick, S. P. (2005). Bullying: Who does what, when and where? Involvement of children, teachers and parents in bullying behaviour. Health Education Research: Theory and Practice, 20, 81–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fryer, D. M. (1995). Benefit agency? Labour market disadvantage, deprivation and mental health. The Psychologist, 8(6), 265–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goswami, H. (2004). Everyday forms of discrimination experienced by the minority: An exploratory study in a village in Bangladesh. Journal of International Development and Cooperation, 10(2), 121–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goswami, H. (2009). Test-retest reliability of well-being measures: Evidence from the national survey of young people’s well-being 2008. The Children’s Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goswami, H. (2012). Social relationships and children’s subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research, 107, 575–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goswami, H. (2021). Children’s subjective well-being in Bangladesh: Influence of Socio-demographic and economic factors. Population Review, 61(1), 119–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harju, A., & Thorod, A. B. (2011). Child poverty in a Scandinavian welfare context—from children’s point of view. Child Indicators Research, 4, 283–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawker, D., & Boulton, M. (2000). Twenty years’ research on peer victimization and psychological maladjustment: A meta analytic review of cross-sectional studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 441–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • House, J. S., Umberson, D., & Landis, K. (1988). Structures and processes of social support. Annual Review of Sociology, 14, 293–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, E. S. (1991). Initial development of the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale. School Psychology International, 12, 231–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, A., & Prout, A. (2015). A new paradigm for the sociology of childhood? Provenance, promise, and problems. In: James, A., & Alan, P. (Eds.), Constructing and reconstructing childhood: Contemporary issues in the sociological study of childhood, Classic ed. Routledge, Oxford, p 6–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, A. D. (2017). Food insecurity and mental health status: A global analysis of 149 countries. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(2), 264–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johannes, G. (2019). Vulnerability and autonomy – children and adults. Ethics and Social Welfare, 13(3), 216–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laursen, B., & Hartl, A. C. (2013). Understanding loneliness during adolescence: Developmental changes that increase the risk of perceived social isolation. Journal of Adolescence, 36, 1261–1268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lotz, M. (2019). The real value of child-parent vulnerability. Ethics and Social Welfare, 13(3), 244–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackenzie, C. (2017). Vulnerability, needs and moral obligation. In C. Straehle (Ed.), Vulnerability, autonomy and applied ethics (1st ed., pp. 83–100). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Main, G., & Bradshaw, J. (2012). A child material deprivation index. Child Indicators Research, 5(3), 503–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Main, G., & Pople, L. (2011). Missing out: A child centered analysis of material deprivation and subjective well-being. The Children’s Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDoom, M. S., Reyes, C., Mina, C., & Asis, R. (2019). Inequality between whom? Patterns, trends, and implications of horizontal inequality in the Philippines. Social Indicators Research, 145(3), 923–942.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishna, F., Newman, P. A., Daley, A., & Solomon, S. (2009). Bullying of lesbian and gay youth: A Qualitative investigation. The British Journal of Social Work, 39(8), 1598–1614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munn, P., & Lloyd, G. (2005). Exclusion and excluded pupils. British Educational Research Journal, 31(2), 205–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mynarska, M., Riederer, B., Jaschinski, I., Krivanek, D., Neyer, G., & Oláh, L. (2015). Vulnerability of families with children: Major risks, future challenges and policy recommendations. Families and Societies Working Paper Series, Vol 49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (1993). Victimization by peers: Antecedents and long-term consequences. In K. Rubin & J. Asendorph (Eds.), Social withdrawal, inhibition, and shyness in childhood (pp. 315–341). Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinter, I., Eyre, D., & Emmott, E. (2016). The damage of debt: The impact of money worries on children’s mental health and well-being. The Children’s Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pople, L., Royston, S., & Surtees, J. (2014). The Debt Trap – Exposing the impact of problem debt on children. The Children’s Society & Step Change. https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/debt_trap_report_may_2014.pdf Accessed 25 September 2020.

  • Prinsloo, J., Claassens, M., Kalima, K., & Mdakane, M. (2019). The vulnerability of children and prisoners in social science research. In N. Nortje, R. Visagie, & J. S. Wessels (Eds.), Social science research ethics in Africa (pp. 213–228). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rees, G. (2011). Still Running 3: Early findings from our third national survey of young runaways, 2011 The Children’s Society, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rees, G., Goswami, H., & Bradshaw, J. (2010). Developing an index of children’s subjective well-being. The Children’s Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rees, G., Pople, L., & Goswami, H. (2011). Links between family economic factors and children’s subjective wellbeing: Initial findings from Wave 2 and Wave 3 quarterly surveys. The Children’s Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ridge, T. (2002). Childhood poverty and social exclusion. Policy Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Shek, D. T. (2003). Economic stress, psychological well-being and problem behaviour in Chinese adolescents with economic disadvantage. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32(4), 259–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soori, H. (2000). Children’s risk perception and parents’ views on levels of risk that children attach to outdoor activities. Saudi Medical Journal, 21(5), 455–460.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, D., Dodge, K. A., & Coie, J. D. (1993). The emergence of chronic peer victimization in boys’ play groups. Child Development, 64, 1755–1772.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schweiger, G., & Graf, G. (2017). Ethics and the dynamic vulnerability of Children. The Ethics Forum, 12(2–3, 243), –261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoresen, C. E., & Eagleston, J. R. (1983). Chronic stress in children and adolescents. Theory Into Practice, 22, 48–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Haridhan Goswami .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Goswami, H., Khalil, M.I., Banik, B.K. (2022). Influence of Vulnerability on Subjective Well-Being and Self-Perceived Safety Among Bangladeshi Children. In: Tiliouine, H., Benatuil, D., Lau, M.K.W. (eds) Handbook of Children’s Risk, Vulnerability and Quality of Life. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01783-4_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01783-4_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-01782-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-01783-4

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics