Indicators of Child Well-Being: the Promise for Positive Youth Development

Abstract

In the current U.S. indicators system, measures of child well-being focus primarily on negative outcomes and problems. We measure and track those behaviors that adults wish to prevent. For the most part, the indicators system does not monitor positive development and outcomes. Such a system of child well-being indicators lacks the breadth and balance required in a science-based measurement system. Moreover, it lacks measures of the kinds of constructs that resonate among adolescents themselves and adults. Measures are needed for multiple domains of development, including educational achievement and cognitive attainment, health and safety, social and emotional development, and self-sufficiency. Positive outcomes are often critiqued as soft, highlighting the importance of rigorous conceptualization and measurement, including conceptual clarity and face validity, age appropriate measures, and psychometric rigor. In addition, constructs and measures need to be presented in ways that are understandable to policy makers and the public and that work across varied subgroups and levels of governance. Ideally, comparable measures will be used for indicators, for program evaluation, and in basic research studies of child and adolescent development.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Benson, P., P. Scales, A. Sesma, and E. Roehlkepartain. 2003, March 12. Adolescent spirituality. Paper presented at the Child Trends Indicators of Positive Development Conference, Washington, DC.

Bornstein, M. H., L. Davidson, C. L. M. Keyes, K. A. Moore, and The Center for Child Well-being, eds. 2003. Well-being: Positive development across the life course. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Bridges, L., and K. A. Moore. 2002. Religion and spirituality in childhood and adolescence. Washington, DC: Child Trends.

Citro, C. F., and R. T. Michael. 1995. Measuring poverty: A new approach. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. 2001. America’s children: Key national indicators of well-being. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. 2002. America’s children: Key national indicators of well-being. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. 2003. America’s children: Key national indicators of well-being. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Guzman, L., L. Lippman, and K. A. Moore. 2003. What does the public know about children’s economic and demographic characteristics? Washington, DC: Child Trends for the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Hair, E. C., J. Jager, and S. B. Garrett. 2002. Helping teens develop healthy social skills and relationships: What research shows about navigating adolescence. Washington, DC: Child Trends Research Brief.

10.

Hair, E. C., K. A. Moore, D. Hunter, and J. W. Kaye. 2001. Youth outcomes compendium. Washington, DC: Child Trends and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.

11.

Hauser, R. M., B. B. Brown, and W. R. Prosser, eds. 1997. Indicators of child well-being. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

12.

Hogan, C. 1999. Vermont communities count. Baltimore: Annie E. Casey Foundation.

13.

Moore, K. A. 1997. Criteria for indicators of child well-being. In Indicators of child well-being, edited by R. M. Hauser, B. B. Brown, and W. R. Prosser, 36-44. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

14.

Moore, K. A., E. C. Hair, J. Zaff, Z. Redd, and E. Michelson. 2001. Clark Youth Indicators Grid. Washington, DC: Child Trends.

15.

Public Agenda. 1999. Kids these days. New York: Public Agenda.

16.

Zaff, J. 2001. Scan of positive indicators in national surveys: Working paper. Washington, DC: Child Trends.