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Qualità della vita e well being infantile in quattro ricerche internazionali

The proposal of this contribution is a critical reading of some recent research studies concerning the measurement of children’s well-being in different local contexts. These studies belongb to the Childhood Sociology, characterised by a long interdisciplinary tradition. In this perspective the concept of well-being refers to the material and non-material (subjectively defined) conditions of children’s lives.The present paper describes some international research studies: three European and one American, comparing them on the basis of type of selected indicators, data sources and policy recommendations. These analyses are the outcome of an increasing attention on childhood, in terms not only of its protection, but of active promotion and acknowledgment of the rights of children.A first finding of my comparison is that there isn’t a shared concept, even at national level, of children’s quality of life, either inside the scientific community, or at institutional level. A decisive role in shaping the discourse on life quality is played by three factors differently affecting the choice of indicators and data sources: the age of children (every age is marked by different degrees of autonomy and social competence), the household models in which children live and finally the welfare systems and educational institutions.A second finding concerns the presence of two ways of representing and measuring the concept of children’s well-being. The Anglo-Saxon model focus on the dimensions of control and protection of children’s lives; the European model is based on promotion of participation and on support of the relationships among children and responsible adults.A third finding concerns the exclusive use of objective indicators, strongly limiting a complete understanding of the object; no research study has addressed the subjective aspect of children’s well-being by providing for interviews with the children themselves.