The Structural Model of Child Well-Being

Abstract This paper focuses on theoretical debates about child well-being and introduces the structural model of child well-being. The development of the model has its origins in the great diversity of concepts of well-being in the research field. The model is based on the definition of health by the World Health Organisation (WHO 1946), the bioecological theory of child development (Bronfenbrenner and Morris 1998), social support theory (Cobb 1976), and the socio-cultural approach to human development (Vygotsky 1962; Leont’ev 1978). The general frame of the model is founded on the new paradigm of childhood, especially the notion of the child as an active social actor. The model analyzes child well-being as a construct which is made up of dimensions of well-being at the individual level and framed by preconditions of well-being at both individual and societal levels. The dimensions of well-being are physical, mental, social, and material, while the frame of well-being consists of subjective action, a circle of care, the structures of society, and culture. The relationships between the different elements are also included in the model. The paper concludes with a discussion on the model as a whole