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This volume examines the evolution of the Child Well-Being Index and what it promises for understanding the progress in enhancing life prospects. It also looks at the methodological issues involved in the construction of composite quality-of-life indices.

This paper reviews the development of the field of social indicators from its origins in the 1960s to the present. Three classes of social indicators are identified: normative welfare indicators, which focus on direct measures of welfare and are subject to the interpretation that if they change in the right direction while other things remain equal things have gotten better or people are better off; satisfaction indicators, which measure psychological satisfaction, happiness, and life fulfillment by using survey research instruments that ascertain the subjective reality in which people live; and the most inclusive category, descriptive social indicators, which are indexes of social conditions (i.e. contexts of human existence) and changes therein for various segments of a population. Correspondingly, two conceptions of how social indicators are to be interpreted and used are discussed: One, which emphasizes the policy-analytic uses of social indicators, presumes that the proper relationship of social indicators to social policy occurs at the level of operating or managing organizations; the other, which emphasizes the uses of social indicators in social reporting, presumes that the proper role of social indicators is public enlightenment and the formation of general as opposed to operational policy. Three sociological contributions to the descriptive social indicators/enlightenment approach are described: the development of replication and longitudinal studies, the production of analytical studies of social change and social reports, and the creation of formal models for the analysis of data on social change. Current research problems that are identified include the development of social accounting systems, the construction of indicators of institutional values and structures, and the production of improved social forecasts and forecasting techniques. It is concluded that, while issues of public concern may change from time to time, the critical public and private sectors continue to need statistical information about current social conditions and trends.

"Der Aufsatz gibt einen Überblick über die Entwicklung der Erfassung von sozialen Indikatoren seit den 60er Jahren. Drei Klassen sozialer Indikatoren werden genannt: normative Wohlfahrtsindikatoren; Zufriedenheitsindikatoren; deskriptive soziale Indikatoren. Anschließend werden zwei Interpretationskonzepte für soziale Indikatoren diskutiert. Das erste Konzept geht davon aus, daß die richtige Relation zwischen Sozialindikatoren und Sozialpolitik auf der Ebene der damit befaßten Organisationen erscheint. Das andere Konzept nimmt an, daß die eigenständige Rolle sozialer Indikatoren bei der Aufklärung der Öffentlichkeit im Gegensatz zur operationalisierten Politik steht. Drei soziologische Beiträge zum deskriptiven Ansatz der Sozialindikatorenanalyse werden vorgestellt: die Entwicklung von Langzeitstudien; die Produktion analytischer Studien des sozialen Wandels und die Schaffung formaler Modelle zur Analyse von Daten des sozialen Wandels. Aktuelle Forschungsprobleme werden genannt. Auf das dauernde Bedürfnis nach statistischer Information über soziale Bedingungen wird hingewiesen." (Autorenreferat)

A short account of the development of the social indicators movement which began in the mid-1960's is followed by consideration of problems surrounding various definitions of the term, social indicator. A generic definition & a social indicators model are developed as an aid to assessing the relations of social indicators to social importance. It is noted that a method of determining which social indicators have external validity is necessary--the paradigm problem of social indicators. A theoretical framework encompassing the nature of social systems & social change is proposed for establishing the external validity & interpretation of social indicators demonstrating historical patterns of timing & covariation with social change. An alternative to the "social policy external validity criterion" is suggested. 2 general values which apply to social concerns are level of well-being & level of equity. 2 types of approaches to building social indicator models, which can be structured to address these general values are proposed: (1) macrosocial time series, & (2) life-cycle social indicator models. 2 Tables, 3 Figures. J. N. Mayer.