Perceived well-being among Ethiopian youth: its dimensions, its correlates and its impact on life course events.

Optat H. Tengia, Brown University

The analysis in this paper, which uses data from an ongoing longitudinal survey of Ethiopian youth aged 13 to 17 years, is twofold. First, I investigate socio-demographic attributes, family resources, and community context as potential correlates of dimensions of perceived well-being, which I conceptualize using Amartya Sen’s capability approach. Second, I investigate how perceived well-being among youth, and as a consequence agency, influences three life course events: occupational and educational plans, timing of formation of independent household, and anticipated timing of marriage. The results of this very preliminary draft show a wide variation of the strength of the correlates among the dimensions of perceived well-being explored. Also, perceived well-being appears to influence life course agency positively and as a consequence transition to adulthood and life course plans. A trivariate probit analysis shows a strong covariation between planning of the three life course events.