Entitled “Family experiences during the cost-of-living crisis – Children's perspectives on the impacts on well-being”, the research is structured around the economic challenges experienced since 2020, marked by increased energy and food costs and inflationary pressures, aggravated by the invasion of Ukraine.

In a sample of 236 children, with an average age of about 15 years, from ten schools in five municipalities in the Coimbra district, 83% had heard about the crisis, according to the study's coordinator, Manuel Menezes.

“This contradicts claims that children are alienated and have poor financial and economic literacy. What our study clearly demonstrated is that they have a high level of awareness and economic literacy,” he stated.

Most of the children who participated in the study, promoted by EAPN-Portugal (European Anti-Poverty Network), are Portuguese, but there are also children of other nationalities, such as Brazilians and French.

According to the coordinator, the group is “relatively privileged in terms of educational capital, social capital, and assets,” but these characteristics “do not, however, prevent the identification of some signs of vulnerability that persist in specific segments.”

Manuel Menezes pointed out that “most do not report reduced spending,” but there are some indicators: 10.3% report difficulties paying for electricity and 20.8% report delays in rent or mortgage payments.

“This lower representation of material impacts cannot lead us to conclude that the impacts were not significant. It can also be interpreted as the resilience of families,” he said.

“Generational anxiety”

The sample also signals a “generational anxiety,” with children having “significant concern” about their future. “More than 50% of our children showed this anxiety, fears about economic and financial issues, and fears about illness and death,” explained the coordinator, for whom psychosocial support is an issue that must be taken into consideration.

The research indicates that children “aspire to financial stability,” but 18% prioritized their own and their family's health. Among the children, 13% are concerned about global problems, which, according to the professor, shows “emotional and civic maturity.”

For Manuel Menezes, the study leaves the message that listening to children “is an ethical imperative” and an “essential tool that enriches the understanding of different social phenomena.”

“The way they perceive their well-being and that of their families is a barometer of the health and cohesion of our societies. We cannot downplay this fact”.