Urban-rural variations in children's lives and subjective wellbeing: A comparative analysis of four countries

REES, G; TONON, G; MIKKELSEN, C

Children and Youth Services Review.

ELSEVIER

Lugar: Los Angeles; Año: 2017 vol. 80 p. 41 - 51

0190-7409

This article analyses differences in the lives and well-being of children aged 8 to 12 in four contrasting countries Argentina, Romania, South Africa and Korea using child self-report data. The article reviews a range of previous international literature on urban-rural differences in childrens lives. Based on this literature a set of expectations are identified regarding a number of aspects of childrens lives material deprivation, family context, family relationships, friendships, school experience, safety and facilities in the local area, time use and overall subjective well-being. These are then tested against the data for the four countries separately. Some findings correspond with expectations from previous research while others do not and there is considerable variation in this between the four countries. There is some tentative evidence for slightly higher child subjective well-being in rural areas than urban areas. It is provisionally concluded that urban-rural differences in childrens lives and well-being are country-specific. However, further research is needed with a larger range of countries.