Notions of Life Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction in Children and Adolescents of Low Socioeconomic Status in Chile

The study of subjective well-being in childhood and adolescence has had a recent and dynamic growth, however, there still exist few qualitative studies that contribute to getting to know about and discussing the sociocultural diversity of well-being, in particular those considering the socioeconomic belonging of the studied groups. The aim of this study is to identify and describe the notions of life satisfaction and dissatisfaction in children and adolescents between 10 and 14 years old, who belong to families of low socioeconomic status. For this, we used a qualitative methodology and qualitative techniques of 12 individual interviews and 6 group interviews, with a total of 52 children and adolescents. Thematic content analysis of emerging categories was carried out. The results indicate that the main and most relevant aspects of children’s and adolescents’ well-being are: the value of close and harmonious relationships; and feeling cared for, loved and supported by significant adults. In turn, they assess entertainment and playing with their friends as satisfactory. At school they value entertaining and participatory learning. It is also significant for them that they feel supported with their personal life projects and that they have opportunities for personal and family progress. Finally, it is noted that they attribute importance to social justice for all persons in situations of inequality or exclusion; and that they assess having clean and safe public spaces as satisfactory.