Poverty, wellbeing and support protection among adolescents in India

Solomon J. Renati, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

This study examines the relationship between levels of income, gender differences, support protection and self reported experiences of wellbeing. Using the 2006 survey data collected from 1129 adolescents using “Adolescent Risk and Wellbeing Questionnaire” this study explores the patterns of wellbeing vary by standard of living index, gender and support protection. The findings identify the higher levels of Standard of living among males and decreasing levels of standard of living index among the females. The study also presents decreasing levels of wellbeing among the males and increasing levels of wellbeing among the females. Support protection component has to do with the support received from significant others from the community, support from teachers and family members. Findings for support protection reveal that adolescent males experience decreasing levels of support protection while adolescent females experience increasing levels of support protection. Also, low correlations were observed between low SLI adolescents and wellbeing.