Child Vulnerability from a Cross-Country Comparative Perspective

Measuring child vulnerability, especially from the perspective of children in a comparable cross-country manner, is not an easy task. This chapter introduces the first version of the International Child Subjective Vulnerability-Resilience Index (ICSVRI) that aims to be an international cross-country comparable child subjective vulnerability measure. It applies the conceptual framework for understanding child vulnerability presented in Chap. 2 and is operationalised using data from the International Child Well-being Survey collected from 10 and 12-year-old children in 20 countries around the world. Based on the first version of ICSVRI, the conceptual framework for understanding child vulnerability is empirically tested, and international comparisons of children’s subjective vulnerability are provided. The main contributors to child subjective vulnerability are explored to provide insights into what global and national interventions are needed to tackle child vulnerability. Finally, inequalities in child subjective vulnerability by age group and gender are examined.