WHEN THE BURDEN OF LIFE COULD NOT TAKE AWAY HAPPINESS AND LIFE SATISFACTION

EXAMINING IN-SCHOOL ADOLESCENT HAWKERS’ SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

Abstract

This descriptive cross-sectional survey research sought to investigate in-school adolescent hawkers’ subjective well-being and how it could be influenced by socio-demographic variables. Using the snowball sampling technique, 210 in-school adolescent hawkers were recruited in the study. Self-reported questionnaire was employed for data collection, and descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in analyzing the data. Major findings revealed that in-school adolescent hawkers reported mean scores that were higher than average on the three aspects of subjective well-being, indicating a level of resilience in the face of the hardships connected with their lives and experiences. However, their comparatively lower mean scores on the dimension of social well-being point to significant deficiencies in their social integration and trust in societal structures. Besides, gender differences were observed, particularly in the social well-being dimension, where male adolescent hawkers scored significantly lower than their female counterparts. Adolescents living with their parents demonstrated significantly higher emotional and social well-being scores than those living with foster parents or guardians; adolescents in urban areas reported significantly higher emotional and psychological well-being compared to their rural counterparts whereas there were age-related developmental variations in subjective well-being. We conclude that in-school adolescent hawkers in Nigeria may have high subjective well-being with comparatively lower mean scores on the social well-being dimension, and that the consideration of important socio-demographic variables are critical to understanding their subjective well-being. Implications of the findings were highlighted.