Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Child Indicators Research
Publication Date
2-2018
Volume
11
Issue
1
First Page
185
Last Page
205
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Keywords
Children, Material deprivation, Social relationships, Life satisfaction, Hong Kong
Abstract
There has been growing research interest into child poverty and child well-being in Asia. However the development of qualitative and quantitative data in the field predominately adopts ‘expert-led’ or adult-derived measures of child poverty. This article aims to explore variations in children’s overall life satisfaction by their socio-demographic characteristics and social relationships in Hong Kong. Data used in this article is drawn from the first wave of the Strategic Public Policy Research (SPPR) project– ‘Trends and Implications of Poverty and Social Disadvantages in Hong Kong: A Multi-disciplinary and Longitudinal Study’. This article reports, for the first time evidence based on a child-derived material deprivation index - thereby addressing the limitations in traditional adult-derived child poverty measures. The study found that child deprivation explained more of the variation in children’s overall life satisfaction than traditional adult-reported income poverty. Further analyses showed that children’s perceived positive relationships with family and teachers, perceived strong social support from family, and experience of being bullied were associated with their life satisfaction.
DOI
10.1007/s12187-016-9426-7
Print ISSN
1874897X
E-ISSN
18748988
Funding Information
This study was fully supported by a grant from the Central Policy Unit of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. 4003-SPPR-11). {4003-SPPR-11}
Publisher Statement
Copyright © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Accepted Author Manuscript
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Lau, M., & Bradshaw, J. (2016). Material well-being, social relationships and children’s overall life satisfaction in Hong Kong. Child Indicators Research. Advance online publication. 11(1), 185-205. doi: 10.1007/s12187-016-9426-7