Vulnerable Childhood in the Context of Children’s Well-Being

This study aims to clarify the concept of “vulnerable childhood” within the context of child well-being. In modern society, children are exposed to various risks that can negatively impact their physical, emotional, and social development. The article explores diverse aspects of children’s vulnerability, such as socio-economic inequalities, violations of children’s rights, adverse family conditions, and the impact of traumatic events. The authors employ an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses the analysis of sociological, psychological, economic, and legal aspects. The article provides an overview of existing research that emphasizes the importance of understanding the factors contributing towards children’s vulnerability, as well as the consequences it may have on their future well-being. Focusing on governmental and other programs aimed at enhancing child well-being, the authors offer recommendations to ensure the protection of vulnerable children. These include the implementation of inclusive educational programs, strengthening the family social support system, refining legislation concerning children’s rights, and creating effective mechanisms for responding to crisis situations. The article offers an analysis of the influence of the concept of a “vulnerable childhood” on children’s well-being, and presents specific steps for ensuring the protection and support of children at risk.

1. Garifulina E.Sh., Ipatova A.A. Opros detei kak obyazatel’nyi element formirovaniya indeksa detskogo blagopoluchiya [Child Survey as an Essential Part of Child Well-Being Index Design] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2021. Vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 139–148. doi:10.17759/pse.2021260611 (In Russ.).
2. Bruk Zh.Yu., Telitsyna A.Yu. Aktual’nye voprosy, rezul’taty i perspektivy razvitiya issledovanii mezhdunarodnogo proekta po izucheniyu sub”ektivnogo blagopoluchiya detei “Detskie Miry” (obzor po itogam mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii «Perspektivy vnedreniya indeksa detskogo blagopoluchiya v Rossii») [Current issues, results and prospects for research development of the “Children’s Worlds”: The International Survey of Children’s Well-Being (Review following the Results of the International Research and Practical Conference “Prospects for the Introduction of the Index of Child Well-being Index in Russia”)] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Sotsial’nye nauki i detstvo = Social Sciences and Childhood, 2022. Vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 148–158. doi:10.17759/ssc.2022030211 (In Russ.).
3. Vygotsky L.S. Razvitie trudnogo rebenka i ego izuchenie. Osnovnye problemy pedologii v SSSR. Moscow, 1928, pp. 132–136. (In Russ.).
4. Vygotsky L.S. Trudnoe detstvo. 1928. 22 p. (In Russ.).
5. Katan E.A. Zhestokoe obrashchenie i prenebrezhenie v detstve opredelyayut otdalennye posledstviya dlya psikhicheskogo i fizicheskogo zdorov’ya vzroslykh [Abuse and neglect in childhood have far emerging consequences for mental and somatic health for adults]. Orenburgskii meditsinskii vestnik = Orenburg Medical Herald, 2020. Vol. 8, no. 3 (31), pp. 15–22. (In Russ.).
6. Koroleva N.N., Kosheleva A.N., Proekt Yu.L., Khoroshikh V.V. Rol’ detsko-roditel’skikh otnoshenii v informatsionnoi sotsializatsii podrostkov. In K.N. Polivanova (ed.). Mezhdunarodnyi simpozium «L.S. Vygotskii i sovremennoe detstvo»: Sbornik tezisov, Moskva, 15–16 oktyabrya 2016 goda. Moscow: Natsional’nyi issledovatel’skii universitet “Vysshaya shkola ekonomiki”, 2017, pp. 76–78. (In Russ.).
7. Manakova K.R. Udovletvorennost’ zhizn’yu i predstavleniya podrostkov o schast’e [Life satisfaction and adolescent beliefs about happiness]. Voprosy studencheskoi nauki = Sciff. Questions of Student Science, 2020, no. 11 (51), pp. 376–383. (In Russ.).
8. Oslon V.N., Sem’ya G.V., Prokop’eva L.M., Kolesnikova U.V. Operatsional’naya model’ i instrumentarii dlya izucheniya sub"ektivnogo blagopoluchiya detei-sirot i detei, ostavshikhsya bez popecheniya roditelei [Operational Model and Tools for Studying Subjective Well-Being of Orphans and Children Without Parental Care] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2020. Vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 41–50. doi:10.17759/pse.2020250604 (In Russ.).
9. Lebedinsky V.V, Bardyshevskaya M.K. (eds.). Psikhologiya anomal’nogo razvitiya rebenka: Khrestomatiya: V 2 t. T. 1. Moscow: CheRo; Vysshaya shkola; Izdatel’stvo Moskovskogo universiteta, 2002. (In Russ.).
10. Semya G.V. Rebenok v usloviyakh institutsionalizatsii: rezul’taty monitoringa uslovii zhizni i vospitaniya vospitannikov i ikh sub”ektivnogo blagopoluchiya v organizatsiyakh dlya detei-sirot [The Child in Care: Results of the Living and Parenting Conditions’ Monitoring of Children in Care and Their Subjective Well-Being in Orphanages] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Sotsial’nye nauki i detstvo = Social Sciences and Childhood, 2021. Vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 7–23. doi:10.17759/ssc.2021020201 (In Russ.).
11. Telitsyna A.Yu. Integratsiya podrostkov, ostavshikhsya v detstve bez popecheniya roditelei, v sotsium bol’shogo goroda. In A.A. Bochaver (ed.). Podrostok v megapolise: novaya real’nost’: Sbornik trudov XV Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii, Moskva, 05–06 aprelya 2022 goda. Moscow: Natsional’nyi issledovatel’skii universitet “Vysshaya shkola ekonomiki”, 2022, pp. 114–115. (In Russ.).
12. Telitsyna A.Yu. Otsenka detskogo blagopoluchiya: mezhdunarodnyi i rossiiskii opyt v ramkakh teorii novoi sotsiologii detstva [Evaluation of Children’s Well-being: International and Russian Experience in the Framework of the Theory of the New Sociology of Childhood] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Sotsial’nye nauki i detstvo = Social Sciences and Childhood, 2022. Vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 120–131. doi:10.17759/ssc.2022030208 (In Russ.).
13. Abajobir A.A., Kisely S., Williams G.M., Clavarino A.M., Najman J.M. Substantiated childhood maltreatment and intimate partner violence victimization in young adulthood: a birth cohort study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 46, pp. 165–179. doi:10.1007/s10964-016-0558-3
14. Alderton A., Villanueva K., O’Connor M., Boulangé C., Badland H. Reducing Inequities in Early Childhood Mental Health: How Might the Neighborhood Built Environment Help Close the Gap? A Systematic Search and Critical Revie. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2019. Vol. 16, no. 9. doi:10.3390/ijerph16091516
15. Aoyagi S.-S., Tsuchiya K.T. Does maternal postpartum depression affect children’s developmental outcomes? International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 2019. Vol. 45, no. 9, pp. 1809–1820. doi:10.1111/jog.14064
16. Atzl V.M., Narayan A.J., Rivera L.M., Lieberman A.F. Adverse childhood experiences and prenatal mental health: Type of ACEs and age of maltreatment onset. Journal of Family Psychology, Vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 304–314. doi:10.1037/fam0000510
17. Bakare M.O., Okoye J.O., Obindo J.T. Introducing depression and developmental screenings into the national programme on immunization (NPI) in southeast Nigeria: an experimental cross-sectional assessment. General Hospital Psychiatry, Vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 105–112. doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2013.09.005
18. Barrance R.M., Hampton J.M. The relationship between subjective well-being in school and children’s participation rights: International evidence from the Children’s Worlds survey. Children and Youth Services Review, 2023. Vol. 151. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.107038
19. Bennett J.C., Surkan P.J., Moulton L.H. et al. Childhood social isolation and psychotic experiences in young adulthood: a community based study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Vol. 29, pp. 1003–1010. doi:10.1007/s00787-019-01417-2
20. Berman N.C., Wheaton M.G., Abramowitz J.S. Childhood trauma and thought action fusion: A multi-method examination. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. 2013. Vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 43–47. doi:10.1016/j.jocrd.2012.11.002
21. Bigras N., Vaillancourt-Morel M.-P., Nolin M.-C., Bergeron S. Associations between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Sexual Well-being in Adulthood: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, Vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 332–352. doi:10.1080/10538712.2020.1825148
22. Boroujerdi F.G., Kimiaee S.A., Yazdi S.A.A., Safa M. Attachment style and history of childhood abuse in suicide attempters. Psychiatry Research. Vol. 271, pp. 1–7. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.006
23. Casas F., Frønes I. From snapshots to complex continuity: Making sense of the multifaceted concept of child well-being. Childhood, Vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 188–202. doi:10.1177/0907568219895809
24. Chen Y., Shan Y., Lin K., Wei Y., Kim H., Koenen K.C., Gelaye B., Papatheodorou S.I. Association Between Child Abuse and Risk of Adult Coronary Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2023. Vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 143–154. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2023.02.028
25. Choi J., Cho H., Lee S., Kim J., Park E.-C. Effect of the online game shutdown policy on internet use, internet addiction, and sleeping hours in Korean adolescents. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 2018. Vol. 62, no. 5, pp. 548–555. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.11.291
26. Copeland W.E., Shanahan L., McGinnis E.W., Aberg K.A., van den Oord E.J.C.G. Early adversities accelerate epigenetic aging into adulthood: a 10-year, within-subject analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2022. Vol. 63, no. 11, pp. 1308–1315. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13575
27. Dardanou M., Unstad T., Brito R., Dias P., Fotakopoulou O., Sakata Y., O’Connor J. Use of touchscreen technology by 0—3-year-old children: Parents’ practices and perspectives in Norway, Portugal and Japan. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 2020. Vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 551–573. doi:10.1177/1468798420938445
28. Ding R., He P. Associations between childhood adversities and late-life cognitive function: Potential mechanisms. Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 291. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114478
29. Dodge T., Hoffman R.K., Kracke-Bock J., Jaccard J.J., Stock. M.L. How Does Being under the Influence Affect Willingness to Experience Overlapping Effects of Alcohol and Marijuana? Substance Use & Misuse, Vol. 58, no. 12, pp. 1483–1492. doi:10.1080/10826084.2023.2223284
30. Gewirtz-Meydan A. Sexual Dysfunction Among Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors: The “Functional” Dysfunction? Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 2022. Vol. 48, no. 7, pp. 694–705. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2022.2044944
31. Hein T.C., Goetschius L.G., McLoyd V.C., Brooks-Gunn J., McLanahan S.S., Mitchell C., Lopez-Duran N.L., Hyde L.W., Monk C.S. Childhood violence exposure and social deprivation are linked to adolescent threat and reward neural function. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2020. Vol. 15, no. 11, pp. 1252–1259. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsaa144
32. Hofmans L., Bos van den W. Social learning across adolescence: A Bayesian neurocognitive perspective. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Vol. 58. doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101151
33. Hostinar C.E., Miller G.E. Protective factors for youth confronting economic hardship: Current challenges and future avenues in resilience research. American Psychologist, Vol. 74, no. 6, pp. 641–652. doi:10.1037/amp0000520
34. Hu Y. Marital Disruption, Remarriage and Child Well-being in Chin. Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 41, no. 7, pp. 978–1009. doi:10.1177/0192513X20917779
35. Hutton J.S., Dudley J., Horowitz-Kraus T., DeWitt T., Holland S.K. Associations Between Screen-Based Media Use and Brain White Matter Integrity in Preschool-Aged Children. JAMA Pediatrics, Vol. 174, no. 1. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3869
36. Jaffee S.R. Child maltreatment and risk for psychopathology in childhood and adulthood. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 2017. Vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 525–551. doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045005
37. Jiang S., Sek-yum Ngai S. Social exclusion and multi-domain well-being in Chinese migrant children: Exploring the psychosocial mechanisms of need satisfaction and need frustration. Children and Youth Services Review, 2020. Vol. 116, no. 3. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105182
38. Jiang S., Wang L., Cheng Y. Unrevealing the Mediating Mechanisms Between Material Deprivation and Children’s Life Satisfaction: Empirical Evidence from the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2023. Vol. 18, pp. 893–914. doi:10.1007/s11482-022-10101-8
39. Kalia V., Knauft K., Hayatbini N. Cognitive flexibility and perceived threat from COVID-19 mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and state anxiety. PLOS One, 2020. 15, no. 12. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0243881
40. Kaplan P.S., Danko C.M., Everhart K.D., Diaz A., Asherin R.M., Vogeli J.M., Fekri S.M. Maternal depression and expressive communication in one-year-old infants. Infant Behavior and Development, 2014. Vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 398–405. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2014.05.008
41. Kong J. Martire L.M. Parental childhood maltreatment and the later-life relationship with parents. Psychology and Aging, Vol. 34, no. 7, pp. 900–911. doi:10.1037/pag0000388
42. Koutra K., Chatzi L., Bagkeris M., Vassilaki M., Bitsios P., Kogevinas M. Antenatal and postnatal maternal mental health as determinants of infant neurodevelopment at 18 months of age in a mother-child cohort (Rhea Study) in Crete, Greece. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2013. Vol. 48, no. 8, pp. 1335–1345. doi:10.1007/s00127-012-0636-0
43. Labadie C., Godbout N., Vaillancourt-Morel M.-P., Sabourin S. Adult Profiles of Child Sexual Abuse Survivors: Attachment Insecurity, Sexual Compulsivity, and Sexual Avoidance. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 2018. Vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 354–369. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2017.1405302
44. Laevers F., Declercq B. How well-being and involvement fit into the commitment to children’s rights. European Journal of Education, 2018. Vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 325–335. doi:10.1111/ejed.12286
45. Lillo-Martin D.C., Gale E., Chen Pichler D. Family ASL: An Early Start to Equitable Education for Deaf Children. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 2023. Vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 156–166. doi:10.1177/02711214211031307
46. Lockyer S., Spiro A. Socio-economic inequalities in childhood obesity: Can community level interventions help to reduce the gap? Nutrition Bulletin, Vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 381–393. doi:10.1111/nbu.12410
47. Makriyianis H.M., Adams E.A., Lozano L.L., Mooney T.A., Morton C., Liss M. Psychological inflexibility mediates the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and mental health outcomes. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 2019. Vol. 14, pp. 82–89. doi:10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.09.007
48. McCrory E., Foulkes L., Viding E. Social thinning and stress generation after childhood maltreatment: a neurocognitive social transactional model of psychiatric vulnerability. The Lancet. Psychiatry, Vol. 9, no. 10, pp. 828–837. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00202-4
49. Mills R., Alati R., Strathearn L., Najman J.M. Alcohol and tobacco use among maltreated and non-maltreated adolescents in a birth cohort. Addiction, Vol. 109, no. 4, pp. 672–680. doi:10.1111/add.12447
50. Mills R., Scott J., Alati R., O’Callaghan M., Najman J.M., Strathearn L. Child maltreatment and adolescent mental health problems in a large birth cohort. Child Abuse & Neglect, 2013. Vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 292–302. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2012.11.008
51. Nodeland B., Morris R. A Test of Social Learning Theory and Self-Control on Cyber Offending. Deviant Behavior, Vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 41–56. doi:10.1080/01639625.2018.1519135
52. Rath S., Das D., Sahoo S.K., Raj A., Guddala N.R., Rathee G. Childhood dental fear in children aged 7-11 years old by using the Children’s Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale. Journal of Medicine and Life, 2021. Vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 45–49. doi:10.25122/jml-2020-0084
53. Reuben A., Sugden K., Arseneault L., Corcoran D.L., Danese A., Fisher H.L., Moffitt T.E., Newbury J.B., Odgers C., Prinz J., Rasmussen L.J.H., Williams B., Mill J., Caspi A. Association of Neighborhood Disadvantage in Childhood with DNA Methylation in Young Adulthood. JAMA Network Open, 2020. 3, no. 6. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.6095
54. Rokach A., Clayton S. The Consequences of Child Abuse. Healthcare, 2023. Vol. 11, no. 11. doi:10.3390/healthcare11111650
55. #StatusofMind. 2017. Royal Society of Public Health. URL: https://www.rsph.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/status-of-mind.html (Accessed 30.09.2023).
56. Sayyah M.D., Merrick J.S., Larson M.D., Narayan A.J. Childhood adversity subtypes and young adulthood mental health problems: Unpacking effects of maltreatment, family dysfunction, and peer victimization. Children and Youth Services Review, 2022. Vol. 137, no. 8. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106455
57. Scorza P., Duarte C.S., Hipwell A.E., Posner J., Ortin A., Canino G., Monk C. Research Review: Intergenerational transmission of disadvantage: epigenetics and parents’ childhoods as the first exposure. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2019. Vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 119–132. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12877
58. Sepúlveda A.R., Lacruz T., Solano S., Blanco M., Moreno A., Rojo M., Beltrán L., Graell M. Identifying Loss of Control Eating within Childhood Obesity: The Importance of Family Environment and Child Psychological Distress. Children, Vol. 7, no. 11. doi:10.3390/children7110225
59. Strathearn L., Giannotti M., Mills R., Kisely S., Najman J., Abajobir A. Long-term Cognitive, Psychological, and Health Outcomes Associated with Child Abuse and Neglect. Pediatrics, Vol. 146, no. 4. doi:10.1542/peds.2020-0438
60. Tisdall E. Children’s well-being and children’s rights in tension? The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 2015. Vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 769–789. doi:10.1163/15718182-02304003
61. Vito A.G., Schaefer B., Higgins G.E., Marcum C., Ricketts M. Self-control, social learning theory, social bonds and binge drinking: Results from a national sample. Journal of Substance Use, 2019. 24, no. 6, pp. 655–659. doi:10.1080/14659891.2019.1642406
62. Wilson K., Van Doorn G., Dye J. Vulnerable dark traits mediate the association between childhood adversity and suicidal ideation. Personality and Individual Differences, Vol. 202, no. 3. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2022.111959
63. Ziegler G., Moutoussis M., Hauser T.U., Fearon P., Bullmore E.T., Goodyer I.M., Fonagy P., Jones P.B., Lindenberger U., Dolan R.J. Childhood socio-economic disadvantage predicts reduced myelin growth across adolescence and young adulthood. Human Brain Mapping, Vol. 41, no. 12, pp. 3392–3402. doi:10.1002/hbm.25024