Young People’s Conceptualization of Their Wellbeing: Culturally Situated Understandings in the Context of Kazakhstan

Abstract

Little is known about the wellbeing of young people living in post-Soviet nation contexts such as Kazakhstan. The qualitative data reported represents the views of 309 Kazakhstani young people on their conceptualizations of wellbeing that fell broadly into three major thematic categories: external factors from one's surroundings; relationships with others; and internal aspects of the self. The direct consequence of inadequate physical environment on health and the environment's impact on psychological wellbeing through leisure, lifestyle, education, and employment opportunities were emphasized. Affirmative connections with others were associated with increased levels of emotional wellbeing. The importance of making independent choices as well as being actively involved in leisure, volunteering and extracurricular school activities for achieving optimal levels of wellbeing was highlighted.

Patterns and trajectories of inequality in physical activity from childhood to adolescence in Kazakhstan

“…The lower levels are expected given with a lack of sports infrastructure available in rural areas, and children’s health behaviours being more influenced by their family than peers ( Patton et al, 2016 ). Whereas, the local communities in rural areas have been reported as key determinants for PA among Kazakhstani adolescents ( Brown Hajdukova et al, 2017 ). Similar results were reported in Brazil, where rural adolescents, participate more in agricultural activities and had higher levels of PA compared to their urban peers ( Regis et al, 2016 ).…”

Children’s wellbeing and their academic achievement: The dangerous discourse of ‘trade-offs’ in education

“…Prominent psychologists of children’s wellbeing have however underlined the need for culturally grounded conceptualisations (McLellan, 2019), suggesting ‘ emic ’ perspectives can be combined with derived etic approaches. Emic approaches investigate children’s wellbeing as situated within children’s distinct contexts with the aim of reconceptualising the wellbeing construct; developing culturally sensitive measures and knowledge (see, for example, Camfield and Tafere, 2011; Chen et al, 2009; Gao and McLellan, 2018; Hajdukova et al, 2017; Ho and Cheung, 2006).…”