Childhood Wellbeing: A brief overview

An overview of recent evidence in the field of childhood wellbeing is provided, providing a summary of how wellbeing is conceptualised; the domains and measures employed to assess child wellbeing within the UK and internationally; how the views of children and young people are incorporated into work on child wellbeing; and some conclusions from key studies relevant to the wellbeing of children in the UK.

Abstract

The aim of this briefing paper is to provide an overview of recent evidence in the field of childhood wellbeing. Relevant material was identified through literature and web searching during March/ April 2010, and selected for its potential to illustrate how childhood wellbeing has been defined and understood. The paper provides a summary of how wellbeing is conceptualised; the domains and measures employed to assess child wellbeing within the UK and internationally; how the views of children and young people are incorporated into work on child wellbeing; and some conclusions from key studies relevant to the wellbeing of children and young people in the UK. It concludes by highlighting some of the issues and challenges in taking this work forward.