The role of children's social connections on their perceived level of wellbeing
Relationship quality is a significant factor in children's internal state of happiness. Recent studies indicate that social connections play a highly significant role in children's subjective well-being, but the particular contributions of different interpersonal interactions remain unexplored. The research investigates children's social connections about their reported level of well-being through interactions involving family members, neighborhood elders, peers, bullying, and adult injustice. Data have been collected by a nationwide survey conducted among 1500 students of schools in India. This survey measured six facets of the conversations of children with relatives and older people living in the neighborhood, positive and negative aspects of friendship, experiences of harassment from their peers, and unfair treatment at the hands of adults. Analysis of the data indicated that close family relationships and supportive peer relationships were the most significant predictors of subjective well-being among children. Negative experiences, such as bullying and adult injustice, greatly reduced well-being. Connections with neighborhood adults and the presence or absence of peer bonds also played a smaller role but were significant contributors to variations in children's overall emotional states. These results underscore the necessity of developing healthy family and peer relationships for enhancing children's welfare. Research also emphasizes the importance of interventions tailored to decrease bullying and adult mistreatment. Future research can be directed further into these relations to formulate well-rounded strategies to enhance the quality of life in children and provide them with healthy emotional well-being. These invaluable findings lead teachers and decision-makers further to improve social support.
Authors
- Kartik K. Iyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3046-1401)
- Pooja Saini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4981-7914)
- Davneet Minhas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0217-6777)
- Poonam Thakur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4462-5550)
- Utkarsh Kumar Verma
- Gananath Khilla
Institutions
- Jain University (IN)
- National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur (IN)
- Noida International University (IN)
- Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology (IN)
- Chitkara University (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Multidisciplinary Science Journal
- Published
- 2025-09-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2025ss0304
- Primary Topic
- Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00