This paper presents the process of translation into Italian language and validation of a multi-dimensional instrument for measuring pre-adolescents well-being in Canton Ticino (Switzerland).

As stated by Guhn and colleagues (Guhn et al., 2012), several researchers (e.g.: Benson 2003; Heymann et al. 2006; Oberle et al. 2011) showed how social and contextual assets are related to developmental outcomes and to subjective well-being. Furthermore, a number of social and contextual assets that are significantly related to children’s overall health and well-being (cf. Theokas et al. 2005) have been highlighted by research.

As pointed out in other studies (Schoenert-Reichl et al., 2013), the goal of anyone investigating on pre-adolescents is, among others, to have a reliable measure and valid data on preadolescents’ well-being, both from an actual and a developmental perspective, in order to enhance positive development and to prevent future difficulties, namely academic achievement, health and social and emotional development. Still, despite the growing interest in measuring and monitoring children’s health and well-being (e.g., Ben-Arieh 2008; Noll, 2004), a lack of valid and reliable comprehensive instruments was detected both at community and academic level (Schoenert-Reichl et al., 2013).

The “Middle-Years Development Instrument” (MDI) was developed and validated by Schonert-Reichl and colleagues (2013) to assess pre-adolescents well-being inside and outside of school. The instrument investigates five main dimensions: social and emotional development, connectedness to peers and to adults at school, at home, and in the neighborhood, school experiences, physical health and well-being, and constructive use of time after school. These five dimensions are appreciated with different subscales. For instance, the social and emotional development dimension includes scales measuring the following constructs: empathy, optimism, general self-concept, depressive and anxiety symptoms, satisfaction with life and prosocial behavior.

The development of MDI relies on a broad theoretical framework regarding middle-childhood as a specific stage of development, positive psychology, socio-emotional learning, subjective well-being and the importance of social and contextual factors in children’s development (Eccles, 1999; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Greenberg et al., 2003; Ryan & Deci 2000).

In Canton Ticino there is no large scale survey investigating this topic. Several scales are available in Italian language, but there’s no such a comprehensive tool that would allow to measure aspects of individual subjective well-being and to associate them to social and contextual aspects both inside and outside the school environment. 

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