Understanding and Measuring Child Well-Being in the Region of Attica, Greece: Round One

Authors:

Eirini Leriou

, Aggeliki Kazani, Andreas Kollias & Christina Paraskevopoulou

Abstract

This paper aims to establish new, multi-dimensional indicators of child well-being suitable to urban regions such as Attica, Greece, and adjusted to the new form of child poverty that has become apparent during its recent financial crisis. The paper mainly argues that child well-being is a multi-dimensional phenomenon and that the financial crisis produced a specific need for new scientific tools adapted to the particular features that emerged under this circumstance. Within this context, definitions of child well-being and child poverty were developed. With these definitions as foundation, a tool comprising many indicators was formulated to record child well-being; this was applied in Attica through questionnaires addressing 27 public schools and three support centers of the organization, The Smile of the Child, covering two periods: the school years between 2010 and 2018 collectively and the school year 2018–2019 individually. The total number of children in the sample was 878, belonging to three distinct school categories. The results were mapped out in seven clusters. The theoretical and methodological framework of the study was confirmed through a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results reveal that child well-being improved in the period 2018–2019 while there were evident concerns regarding unemployment and whether the education individuals receive is relevant to what kind of people they ought to be. Finally, an action plan focusing on these dimensions and some of the clusters along with an auxiliary tool for decision-making founded on fuzzy logic have been suggested.

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https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12187-020-09770-4