ABSTRACT
The present study aims to investigate the relationship between parents’ and their adolescents’ subjective well-being (SWB) and differences between them based on the mental health concept. A total of 713 Vietnamese adolescents (14 to 18 years old) and their parents (1,426 adults, 34 to 65 years old) responded to the Vietnamese version of the Mental Health Continuum—Short Form (MHC-SF; Keyes, 1998). Additionally, information on the economic condition of the families and the occupational and educational level of the parents was gathered for comparative purposes. The results show that adults with above-average economic conditions and those with higher education have higher levels of SWB. Husbands have higher emotional and social well-being than their wives, while the wives have higher psychological well-being than their husbands. Women who have sons are happier than those who have daughters. The results also revealed that adolescents have significantly lower levels of SWB than their parents, particularly with regard to social well-being. Regarding gender differences, boys are found to have higher levels of subjective well-being when compared to girls. There was no difference in SWB between rural and urban children or between children with different economic conditions. Finally, the SWB scores of the family members are positively correlated with each other. The correlations for SWB of husband–wife pairs are high, and the correlations for father–son pairs and mother–daughter pairs are higher than for father–daughter and mother–son pairs. Suggestions are provided for policymakers to develop strategies to improve the SWB of adults and adolescents in Vietnam.
