What Matters for the Wellbeing of Mothers and Children in Material Hardship? Application of a Modified Indicator Framework.

We examine determinants of subjective wellbeing (SWB) for mothers of dependent children in material hardship, using a modification of the New Zealand Treasury's Living Standards Framework (LSF) and data from the General Social Survey. We convert the LSF-an indicator dashboard-into a tool for prioritising social policies by placing SWB at the head of a hierarchy of wellbeing domains. Several determinants of these mothers' SWB conform to standard findings; however, two important differences stand out.