The Association Between Protective Factors and Children’s Subjective Well-being: A Comparative Cross-National Analysis

Abstract This study investigates the role of protective experiences in fostering children’s subjective well-being across 27 countries, using a large dataset of 10-year-olds ( N = 49,428). While protective factors are well-established in buffering against negative outcomes and poor mental health, their potential to actively promote children’s subjective well-being has received comparatively little attention. Addressing this gap, the study explores the promotive function of such factors. Drawing upon the protective and compensatory experiences (PACEs) model, we identified nine key factors validated using confirmatory factor analysis across three domains: relational, physical, and enriching resources. Results indicated that these factors significantly predicted children’s well-being. Four factors—family relations, friendships, teacher support, and home safety—emerged as the strongest predictors of children's subjective well-being. The model’s predictive power varied across countries, explaining 30–40% of well-being variance in most cases, with some critical differences between nations. Moreover, further country-focused analysis showed certain experiences, particularly religion, were only relevant in specific countries. This study underscores the importance of protective experiences for children’s well-being, highlighting the PACEs model’s utility. Cross-national differences in the model’s effectiveness indicate the need for culturally sensitive applications and the need for culturally informed policies. These findings point to the importance of culturally informed policies and targeted efforts to strengthen protective factors. Future research should further investigate how different protective experiences function across cultural settings to support children’s flourishing.