Eastern and Western Children’s Voices on their Well-Being

Few studies are planned to ‘give voice’ to children from different cultural backgrounds to explore their sources of happiness. To address this gap, the present study analysed focus group discussions with 42 South Indian and 48 European children aged 8 to 17 years. During the discussions, the children were asked about what makes them happy and sad and about what helps them feel good again when they feel sad. The data were analysed based on grounded theory. Data analysis revealed the following seven themes: ‘Indian and European children attach different values to school’, ‘interactions with biological families both support and threaten well-being’, ‘positive and negative effects of relationships on the self’, ‘Indian and European children name different exclusive well-being sources’, ‘cross-cultural and culture-specific coping and relaxation strategies’, ‘staying physically healthy is important to the children’s well-being’, and ‘material and economic resources are clearly linked with children’s well-being’. Moreover, the results suggest that the meaning of the well-being themes is shaped by a child’s self-construal, which is either independent (the self is separated from others) or interdependent (the self is connected with others). How culture might influence children’s viewpoints regarding their own well-being is discussed.