Measuring subjective well-being in an understudied population of young Western-African IDPs and refugees

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report a real-life empirical case and discuss some caveats emerged in measuring subjective well-being (SWB) in an understudied population of adolescents refugees from West Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

During the process of translation and cultural adaptation of the subjective well-being assessment scale in the target population, the model of measurement presented some weakness with regard to content validity criteria.

Findings

This leads to a partial revision of the model and the development of new locally-based domains of SWB.

Originality/value

Context-specific factors’ robustness showed the dynamic and culture-informed nature of the SWB construct. Practical and theoretical implications of using quantitative questionnaires in non-western contexts characterized by high grades of insecurity and instability will be discussed.

Citation

Veronese, G., Pepe, A., Sala, G. and Vigliaroni, M. (2020), "Measuring subjective well-being in an understudied population of young Western-African IDPs and refugees", International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 65-76. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-07-2018-0043