Do ‘child-friendly’ countries contribute to child satisfaction? A comparative study of OECD countries

Child-friendliness is a new concept in the research literature. Derived from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, it assesses different nations’ commitment to the aspects of children’s rights: both self-determination and nurturance and care. Since the concept is still in its infancy, there is a need to study the associations between child-friendliness and the subjective well-being of children in a comparative perspective. Accordingly, the present study compares country rankings in the Child-Friendliness Index (CFI) with country scores in the Global Domain Satisfaction Index (GDSI) in a sample of ten OECD countries. Results show that there is no association between the adapted GDSI score and the CFI. However, the self-determination sub-index and specifically participation in the personal domain are found correlated with GDSI domains. Moreover, countries can be grouped into different clusters: Nordic, Mediterranean, European, Asian. Key Practitioner Message: • There was no apparent association between the adapted GDSI score and the Child-Friendliness Index (CFI) rank; • The CFI self-determination sub-index and participation in the personal domain specifically were found to be correlated with GDSI domains; • Countries may be grouped into different clusters when looking at their GDSI score and CFI rank: Nordic, Mediterranean, European, Asian.