Neighborhood Quality and Subjective Well-being Among Children: A Moderated Mediation Model of Out-of-school Activities and Friendship Quality

• Published in: Child indicators research 2023-08, Vol.16 (4), p.1607-1626
• Main Authors: Wang, Lin, Cheng, Yuhang, Jiang, Shan, Zhou, Ziyao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child and School Psychology; Children; Early Childhood Education; Friendship; Neighborhoods; Quality of Life Research; School Activities; Social Sciences; Social Work; Well being
• ISSN: 1874-897X; 1874-8988
• DOI: 10.1007/s12187-023-10024-2

This study focuses on children as social actors to explore the factors that influence their subjective well-being. The primary purposes of this study are twofold: (1) to examine the potential mediating effects of out-of-school activities on the association between neighborhood quality and children’s subjective well-being; and (2) to examine the potential moderating effects of friendship quality on the associations between neighborhood quality, out-of-school activities, and children’s subjective well-being. This study used international data from the third wave of the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being (ISCWeB). The final sample consists of 93,344 children (mean age = 10.95, 49.3% were boys). The results revealed a significant indirect effect of neighborhood quality on children’s subjective well-being via out-of-school activities. Furthermore, the effect of neighborhood quality on children’s subjective well-being was stronger for children with low friendship quality than for those with high friendship quality. Similarly, the effect of out-of-school activities on subjective well-being was stronger for children with low friendship quality than for those with high friendship quality. This study provides important theoretical and practical implications for future research and interventions.