American High School Students’ Perceptions of Determinants of Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction can be assessed either globally or with regard to satisfaction with specific domains of life. The latter multidimensional approach presumes science has delineated with confidence the specific domains most relevant to evaluating whether the criteria for a good life have been met. This paper shares results of a qualitative study of the perceived determinants of life satisfaction among 30 high school students who were diverse in terms of mental health; 6–10 participants were classified as complete mental health, vulnerable, symptomatic but content, or troubled at two time points separated by a year. Thematic analyses of transcribed individual interviews suggested eight themes that capture the domains of life adolescents perceive influence their happiness. These themes are compared and contrasted to domains included in existing multi-dimensional measures of youth life satisfaction. The factors likely to be particularly salient to students with different levels of mental health are noted.

     

Is Extremely High Life Satisfaction During Adolescence Advantageous?

This study examined whether extremely high life satisfaction was associated with adaptive functioning or maladaptive functioning. Six hundred ninety-eight secondary level students completed the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale [Huebner, 1991a, School Psychology International, 12, pp. 231–240], Youth Self-Report of the Child Behavior Checklist [Achenbach and Edelbrock, 1991, Child Behavior Checklist and Youth Self-Report, Burlington, VT], Abbreviated Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire [Francis, 1996, Personality and Individual Differences, 21, pp. 835–844], Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (Muris, 2001, Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assesment, 23(3), pp. 145–149], and the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (Malecki and Demaray, 2002, Psychology in Schools, 39, pp. 1–18]. Three groups of students were created based on their life satisfaction reports: very high (top 10%), average (middle 25%), and very low (lowest 10%). Compared to students with average life satisfaction, students with very high life satisfaction had higher levels on all indicators of adaptive psychosocial functioning, except extraversion. Moreover, students with very high satisfaction had the lowest scores on all measures of emotional and behavioral problems. However, rates of clinical levels of behavior problems did not differ significantly between the very high and average groups. Finally, several necessary, but not sufficient factors for very high life satisfaction were identified. Taken together, the findings support the notion that very high life satisfaction is associated with positive psychosocial functioning. Furthermore, adolescents’ reports of their life satisfaction revealed differences in adjustment that were not captured by measures of psychopathology.     

A Review of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale

There are few psychometrically sound measures of life satisfaction suitable for children and adolescents. The purpose of this paper is to describe the rationale, development, and psychometric properties of a brief multidimensional life satisfaction scale appropriate for use with children of ages 8–18. The paper summarizes extant studies of its reliability and validity and discusses essential future research. Additionally, the potential uses of the BMSLSS in research and practice are elaborated.     

Contents of Volume 66

Volume Contents

Contents of Volume 66     

The Role of Life Satisfaction in the Relationship between Authoritative Parenting Dimensions and Adolescent Problem Behavior

Research examining environmental factorsassociated with adolescents' life satisfaction(LS) has revealed that familial variables(e.g., parent-child conflict, familystructure) are crucial correlates. Thepurpose of the current study was to identifyparticular dimensions of authoritativeparenting (strictness-supervision, socialsupport/involvement, and psychological autonomygranting) that are related to LS during early,middle, and late adolescence, as well as toexplore the hypothesis that LS serves as amediator between authoritative parenting andadolescent internalizing and externalizingbehavior. A sample of 1201 middle and highschool students completed self-report measuresassessing these constructs. Results indicatedstatistically significant relationships betweeneach authoritative parenting dimension andadolescent LS. Although all three parentingdimensions were positively related to LS,perceived parental social support emerged asthe strongest correlate. Importantdevelopmental differences were revealed,including the finding that the associationbetween parenting behaviors and adolescents' LSchanged as children aged. Last, LS fullymediated the relationship between socialsupport and adolescent problem behavior andpartially mediated relationships between theremaining authoritative parenting dimensions(i.e., strictness-supervision, psychologicalautonomy granting) and maladaptive adolescentbehavior.