Children’s Subjective Well-being in Pakistan

Abstract

The article reports initial results of children’s subjective wellbeing survey in Pakistan. The survey was carried out in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. A total of 3600 children, within the age group 8 to 12 years, took part in the survey. This research is a sequel of the International Survey of Children’s Wellbeing (ISCWeB) dealing with children’s perceptions regarding their wellbeing. It encompasses the views of children about their family, peer relation, safety, agency, economic conditions and education. Moreover, it investigated their level of satisfaction with themselves, thus focusing on their overall well-being. The researcher found that children are highly satisfied with their lives. Among the three age categories, the highest level of satisfaction was showed by the eight years old age group, within that girls have higher results in comparison with boys. However, the lowest results were seen among children of twelve years old. Furthermore, no significant differences were seen in the wellbeing of children based on the area they live in. Nonetheless, a slightly higher satisfaction was observed among the children living in rural areas.