This project will focus on the conceptualisation, measurement and usefulness of asking children to evaluate their own lives.

There is growing international interest in the topic of self-reported well-being .  It has been argued that people’s own accounts of their well-being should be a key policy concern for governments.

But most of the research on this topic has focused on adults and relatively little is known about how children feel about their lives.  This research project will focus on the self-reported well-being of children aged 8 to 12.

It will seek to answer three key questions:

1. Concepts: To what extent do the theoretical frameworks of adults’ self-reported well-being apply to children, and what modifications might be needed?
2. Measures: Is it possible to develop valid and reliable measures of children’s self-reported well-being?
3. Usefulness: Are measures of children’s self-reported well-being of practical and policy value in terms of identifying ways to improve children’s lives?