WORRIES AND WELL-BEING DURING CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to understand what children and adolescents’ worries are; and the strategies used to face them, as well as their sources of well-being.

Research Design: Qualitative and Exploratory study

Place and Duration of study: Center for Health Education, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal in 2010.

Sample & Method: The sample consisted of 1207 Portuguese children and adolescents, 48.4% boys, 5th to the 12th grades, mean age 12.5 years old confronted with the following questions: What worries you more? How to get rid of worries? What increases your well-being? and with a set of general questions about how to cope with difficult situations.

Results: It was clear that children and adolescents are better at moving away from difficult situations than coping with them, especially when there is an interpersonal conflict or an external “temptation” included, furthermore they have difficulties understanding their own emotional state. School, family, peers and leisure time are important issues in young people’s well-being but they play differential roles.

Conclusion: Children and adolescents are not often heard by parents and teachers, but their active participation in the understanding of their worries in their personal strategies to cope is vital for clinical and educational interventions promoting their well being and preventing mental distress.