Latent profile analysis of associations among childrens risk profiles, rights, and subjective well-being across 16 countries

Abstract

© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.Identifying factors that predict higher levels of childrens subjective well-being (SWB) is imperative for practice and policy implications. The current study explored latent subgroups of risks characterized by various dimensions of child well-being and investigated whether the latent risk groups were associated with childrens SWB across 16 nations. The moderating role of subjective child rights as a protective factor in the relationship between latent risk profiles and childrens SWB was also examined. Data of children aged 12 years from the second wave of the International Survey of Childrens Well-Being (N = 19,212) was analyzed. Latent profile analysis was used to identify risk profiles based on childrens different risk experiences, and subsequently, multilevel regression analysis was used to identify whether group membership predicted SWB. Five latent profiles were identified: low, moderate, dual, material, and victimization risk groups. Findings revealed the concurrent nature of risks in childrens lives, as they are often exposed to deficiencies across multiple domains, rather than just one. Multilevel regression analysis results signified that membership in any risk profile is linked with lower SWB of children when compared to the low risk group and highlighted the significant conditioning role of subjective child rights in the relationship between the risk profiles and SWB. Policymakers should be aware of the co-experience of multiple risk factors and devise policies that meet the needs of various groups of children at risk and advocate children as rights holders to further help children with co-occurring risks attain a higher level of SWB.