How Does the Child Protection System Influence the Subjective Well- Being of Adolescents in Care?

Abstract

Subjective well-being is an essential component of quality of life. Little is known about subjective well-being of children and even less about vulnerable groups such as adolescents in care. This paper aims at studying how the child protection system influences the subjective well-being of the adolescents in care on the basis of their own perceptions, evaluations and satisfactions. The cross-sectional research was carried out in Catalonia and the study population included adolescents between 12 and 14 years old in residential care (n = 379) and in kinship care (n = 219). We used the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being questionnaire (ISCWeB) that includes three psychometric scales: Overall Life Satisfaction (OLS), Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS) and Personal Well-Being Index (PWI), understood as subjective well-being indicators. The majority of adolescents in kinship care were satisfied with the type of placement, but only half of those who live in residential centres. The adolescents who have stayed longer in the same type of placement, those who live in small centres and those who are satisfied with their carers, educators and peers from residential centres, showed higher scores in their subjective well-being. Stability and emotional bonds with carers and educators are key factors to their well-being.