Understanding and Measuring Child Well-being in the Region of Attica, Greece: Round four

This paper aims to present the results of implementing a new, multi-dimensional and cumulative tool that records the well-being of children in the 1st semester of the school year 2020–2021, which constitutes the fourth round of an ongoing research. The tool was implemented in Attica through questionnaires circulated in twenty-five schools and three support centers for children and families under the organization, “The Smile of the Child” (twenty-eight bodies in total). The total number of children who participated in the sample was 1,114, belonging to three distinct school categories: the 6th grade of elementary school (10–11 years old), the 3rd grade of junior high (13–14 years old), and the 3rd grade of high school (16–17 years old). The results, mapped out in seven clusters, reveal evident concerns over nutrition and the moral education of students. In addition, the results indicate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of children and reveal with regard to national policy and legislation framework that the status of welfare state in Greece is ineffective and problematic. The theoretical and methodological framework of the study was confirmed through a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and a principal component analysis (PCA).The outputs of MCA reflect and confirm the good effect of “The Smile of the Child” for children in need. Finally, an action plan including the creation of policies based on public finance and fuzzy logic was suggested, the most important being the necessity of the establishment of a new Ministry for the protection of child well-being.