Perceived Family Life Quality in Junior Secondary School Students in Hong Kong

The present longitudinal study examined perceived family functioning and related socio-demographic correlates from the perspective of adolescents in Hong Kong. Results showed that adolescent perceptions of family functioning based on different indicators gradually deteriorated over time. Regarding the socio-demographic correlates, (a) boys had more favourable perceived family functioning than did girls; (b) adolescents from non-intact families had poorer perceived family functioning than those from intact families; and (c) economically disadvantaged adolescents had poorer perceived family functioning than non-economically disadvantaged adolescents. Results also revealed that adolescents’ perceived family functioning was positively related to positive youth development. Analyses further indicated that perceived family functioning and positive youth development were concurrently and longitudinally related.     

Personal Well-Being and Family Quality of Life of Early Adolescents in Hong Kong: Do Economic Disadvantage and Time Matter?

Differences in personal well-being and family quality of life in Chinese adolescents with and without economic disadvantage as well as the related developmental trends were examined in a longitudinal study. Over three consecutive years, Chinese junior secondary school students responded to validated measures of positive youth development, risk behaviors and perceived family functioning. Consistent with our hypotheses, results showed that poor adolescents had poorer positive youth development and perceived family functioning than did non-poor adolescents. Although there was no difference between the poor and non-poor groups on substance abuse, significant interaction effect of poverty and time on substance abuse was observed. While there was a general drop in positive youth development and perceived family functioning over the years, adolescent risk behaviors gradually increased during the junior secondary school years in Hong Kong.     

Positive Youth Development,Life Satisfaction and Problem Behaviour Among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong: A Replication

The purpose of this replication study was to examine the relationships among life satisfaction, positive youth development and problem behaviour. The respondents were 7,151 Chinese Secondary 2 (Grade 8) students (3,707 boys and 3,014 girls) recruited from 44 schools in Hong Kong. Validated assessment tools measuring positive youth development, life satisfaction and problem behaviour were used. As predicted, positive youth development was positively correlated with life satisfaction, and positive youth development and life satisfaction were negatively correlated with adolescent problem behaviour. Based on a series of structural equation models, the present findings replicated the previous findings that adolescents with a higher level of positive youth development were more satisfied with life and had lesser problem behaviour, with higher level of life satisfaction and lower level of problem behaviour mutually influencing each other. These replicated findings provide a further advance in the literature on positive youth development, particularly in the Chinese context. Implications for future research and intervention were discussed.     

Life satisfaction and family structure among adolescents in Hong Kong

Relationships between family structure and perceived life satisfaction in overall life and five domains of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale, family life, friendships, school experience, myself, and where I live were examined among 4,502 Chinese adolescent secondary school students in Hong Kong. Bivariate analyses showed that economic status was not a significant risk factor, but gender, level of study, and migrant status had to be controlled to examine the life satisfaction-family structure relations. Logistic regression analyses found that in overall life, with adolescents living with two parents as standard for comparisons, adolescents living with mother had similar life satisfaction, but those living with father only, and those with no parents, or single parent with other adults had very much higher risk of life dissatisfaction. Specifically, the risks associated with the adverse family structures were most excessive in the domain of ‘family life’.     

Family Life Quality and Emotional Quality of Life in Chinese Adolescents with and Without Economic Disadvantage

Chinese secondary school students (N = 2758) responded to measures of perceived family life quality (parenting quality and parent–child relational quality) and emotional quality of life (hopelessness, mastery, life satisfaction and self-esteem). Parenting quality included different aspects of parental behavioral control (parental knowledge, expectation, monitoring, discipline and demandingness as well as parental control defined in terms of indigenous Chinese concepts), parental psychological control, and parental responsiveness whereas parent–child relational quality included satisfaction with parental control, child’s readiness to communicate with the parents, parental trust of the child, and child’s trust of the parent. Results showed that parenting quality and parent–child relational quality in poor families were generally poorer than those of non-poor families and the differences were more pronounced in paternal parenting quality and father–child relational quality than in maternal parenting quality and mother–child relational quality. Emotional quality of life of adolescents experiencing economic disadvantage was also found to be poorer than that of adolescents not experiencing economic disadvantage. The present findings replicate the previous research findings in the literature and generate a pioneering dataset based on Chinese adolescents at Secondary 2 level in Hong Kong.     

Life Satisfaction,Positive Youth Development,and Problem Behaviour Among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

This paper examines the relationships among life satisfaction, positive youth development, and problem behaviour. A total of 7,975 Secondary One students (4,169 boys and 3,387 girls; with most aged 12) of Chinese ethnicity recruited from 48 schools responded to validated measures of life satisfaction, positive youth development and problem behaviour. While life satisfaction was positively correlated with different measures of positive youth development, these measures were negatively correlated with measures of substance abuse, delinquency and intention to engage in problem behaviour. Based on a series of structural equation models, a non-recursive model was found to best fit the data, which suggests that adolescents having higher levels of positive youth development are more satisfied with life and have fewer problem behaviour, with life satisfaction and problem behaviour negatively reinforcing each other.     

Longitudinal Influences of Positive Youth Development and Life Satisfaction on Problem Behaviour among Adolescents in Hong Kong

The cross-sectional and longitudinal influences of positive youth development and life satisfaction on adolescent problem behaviour were examined in this study. The respondents were 4,523 Chinese students recruited from 43 secondary schools in Hong Kong, and the study followed them from Grade 7, Grade 9 to Grade 11. Repeated measurements employing validated self-reported assessment tools were used. Analyses using structural equation modelling showed that positive youth development directly influenced life satisfaction and reduced problem behaviour at Grades 7 and 9. However, the direct effect of positive youth development on problem behaviour was mediated by life satisfaction at Grade 11. The mediating effect of life satisfaction on the enhancement of future positive youth development was also discovered. These pioneer longitudinal findings contribute to the existing literature in delineating the causal and mediating roles of positive youth development and life satisfaction in adolescent problem behaviour, particularly in the Chinese context.     

The Longitudinal Relationships Between Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction at School and School-Related Subjective Well-Being in Adolescents

Situated within a positive psychology perspective, this study aimed at examining the nature and directionality of longitudinal relationships between basic psychological needs satisfaction at school and adolescents’ school-related subjective well-being. A total of 576 students (40.5 male and 36.8 % students in junior high school) completed measures of adolescent students’ basic psychological needs at school and school-related subjective well-being at two time points, 6 weeks apart. Cross-lagged structural equation modeling showed significant bidirectional longitudinal relationships between autonomy, relatedness, and competence needs satisfaction and school satisfaction. Furthermore, significant bidirectional relationships were observed between competence need satisfaction and positive affect in school. The findings provided important evidence of the roles of adolescents’ different types of needs satisfaction, experienced specifically during school, in adolescents’ school-related subjective well-being. The findings also helped extend the positive psychology perspective to the relatively neglected context of education.     

Very Happy Youths: Benefits of Very High Life Satisfaction Among Adolescents

This study investigated the characteristics of adolescents reporting very high levels of life satisfaction. Participants (N = 410) were divided into three life satisfaction groups: very high (top 10%), average (middle 25%), and very low (lowest 10%). Results revealed that very happy youths had significantly higher mean scores on all included school, interpersonal, and intrapersonal variables, and significantly lower mean scores on depression, negative affect, and social stress than youths with average and very low levels of life satisfaction. Life meaning, gratitude, self-esteem, and positive affect were found to have a significantly more positive influence on global life satisfaction for the very unhappy than the very happy. Findings suggest that very unhappy youths would benefit most from focused interventions aimed at boosting those variables having the most influence on their level of life satisfaction. Results are discussed in light of previous findings and suggestions for future directions are briefly discussed.     

The Latent Profiles of Life Domain Importance and Satisfaction in a Quality of Life Scale

The present study aimed to use a latent profile analysis to distinguish between populations in terms of life domain importance and satisfaction profiles. Then, a multinomial logistic regression was used to determine how background variables (e.g., gender, living areas, and school levels) and self-perceived health predict each latent quality of life (QoL) profile. We also investigated how the latent groups of adolescents predicted negative and positive well-being indicators (e.g., problem behaviors and overall life satisfaction). The sample consisted of 720 Taiwanese secondary school students. Three latent groups were established as follows: “unimportant-unsatisfied,” “important-unsatisfied,” and “important-satisfied.” The results indicate the following: (a) boys were more likely to fall into the “unimportant-unsatisfied” group than were girls; (b) better health increased the likelihood of being in the “important-satisfied” group; (c) high school students were more likely to be in the “unimportant-unsatisfed” group than were middle school students; and (d) no relationship was found between latent groups and living areas. The function of importance rating was not present when evaluating the importance-satisfaction profiles and their relationship with problem behaviors and overall life satisfaction. The problems of the “unimportant-unsatisfied” profile among youth are discussed.     

Economic disadvantage,perceived family life quality,and emotional well-being in Chinese adolescents: A longitudinal study

Over three consecutive years, Chinese secondary school students experiencing and not experiencing economic disadvantage (n = 280 and 2,187, respectively) responded to measures of perceived family life quality (parenting attributes and parent-child relational quality) and emotional well-being (hopelessness, mastery, life satisfaction and self-esteem). While participants experiencing economic disadvantage generally had more negative perceptions of parenting quality and parent-child relational quality than did adolescents not experiencing economic disadvantage, the differences were more pronounced for the father-adolescent dyad than for the mother-adolescent dyad. Emotional well-being was also different in adolescents with and without economic disadvantage. Although adolescents experiencing different intensity of economic disadvantage differed on some paternal parenting processes, no related differences were observed for other measures of family life quality and emotional well-being. The present study fills the research gap pertinent to the relationship between economic disadvantage and family as well as emotional quality of life in early adolescence in the Chinese culture. This work was financially supported by the Research Grants Council of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong (Grant CUHK4293/03H) and Wofoo Foundation. The author wishes to thank Britta Lee and Joyce Chow for their assistance in collecting the data.     

Electronic Bullying and Victimization and Life Satisfaction in Middle School Students

This study examined the nature and prevalence of electronic bullying and victimization in a sample of middle school students in a southeastern USA school. Relationships among measures of electronic bullying and victimization and global and domain-specific life satisfaction were also investigated. A total of 855 7th and 8th grade US students responded to questions regarding global and domain-based life satisfaction, electronic bullying and victimization behaviors. Although a majority of students reported not engaging in or being the victim of electronic bullying, the small percentage of students who did report these behaviors as being problematic indicated that the behaviors occurred several times a week. Statistically significant correlates of electronic bullying were self-reported grades in school, gender, and parent marital status. Significant correlates of victimization were self-reported grades in school, parent marital status, and ethnicity. The results suggested modest, but pervasive relationships between experiences of electronic bullying and victimization and adolescents?? life satisfaction reports across a variety of important life domains. When the effects of demographic variables were controlled, the relationship between electronic victimization and global life satisfaction became non-significant, suggesting that global life satisfaction reports may mask the effects of specific life satisfaction domains.     

A Short-Term Longitudinal Study of Differential Sources of School-Related Social Support and Adolescents’ School Satisfaction

School is an important context for early adolescents’ development. An overall positive sense of well-being in school, measured by school satisfaction in this study, should be one of the indicators of a good schooling experience. To address the importance of social support in the school context, this study examined the relationship between three sources of school-related social support (family support for learning, peer support for learning, and teacher-student relationships) and early adolescents’ school satisfaction across time. Participants were 547 middle school students from a middle school in the Southeastern United States who completed surveys of school social climate and school satisfaction on two separate occasions, five months apart. Results showed that overall school-related social support explained a substantial amount of the variance associated with students’ school satisfaction reports at both time points. However, there were differential effects among three sources of social support. Specifically, teacher-student relationships accounted for the largest amount of variance in school satisfaction at Time 1 and Time 2 (controlling for Time 1); peer support contributed a statistically significant amount of unique variance to school satisfaction at Time 1; and family support significantly contributed to students’ school satisfaction at Time 2 (controlling for Time 1). Recommendations for educators, childcare workers, administrators, and policymakers are discussed in light of the findings and developmental considerations.     

The Association Between School Stress,Life Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: Life Satisfaction as a Potential Mediator

The aim of the present study was to investigate the interrelationships between school-related stress (school performance, teacher interaction), life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential mediating role of life satisfaction on the association between school-related stress and depressive symptoms. A total of 1,239 adolescents (13–18 years of age) from public elementary and secondary schools in mid-Norway participated in the school-based survey. The data were analysed using structural equations modelling. The present study showed that stress of school performance was significantly and positively related to depressive symptoms and significantly and inversely related to life satisfaction. At the bivariate levels, stress of teacher interaction was associated with more depressive symptoms and reduced life satisfaction. However, these associations were non-significant in the multivariate analyses, controlled for stress of school performance. A significant inverse association was found between life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Further, life satisfaction partly mediated the association between stress of school performance and depressive symptoms. The results reflect the complexity of the interaction between adolescents’ experience of school performance stress and mental health, and the role of life satisfaction as a potentially relevant mediator of this association.     

Perceived School Performance,Life Satisfaction,and Hopelessness: A 4-Year Longitudinal Study of Adolescents in Hong Kong

This 4-year longitudinal study examined the perceived school performance, life satisfaction, and hopelessness of Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Over the period of the study, perceived school performance and life satisfaction decreased, whereas adolescent hopelessness increased. Consistent with our predictions, a positive relationship between perceived school performance and life satisfaction, a negative relationship between life satisfaction and hopelessness, and a negative relationship between perceived school performance and hopelessness were found. Structural equation modeling further showed that life satisfaction functioned as a mediator in the relationship between perceived school performance and hopelessness. The findings underscore the role of perceived school performance in adolescent well-being and suggest that promoting life satisfaction is a possible way of reducing adolescent hopelessness.     

The Relationship Between Adolescents’ Perceived Parental Involvement,Self-Efficacy Beliefs,and Subjective Well-Being: A Multiple Mediator Model

The aim of this study was to examine the mediation roles of academic self-efficacy, social self-efficacy, and emotional self-efficacy on the relationships between parental involvement (i.e., paternal involvement and maternal involvement) and subjective well-being (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction) in Malaysian adolescents. Participants were 802 Malaysian high school students from 14 public schools, with an age range of 15–17 years. Results of a multiple mediator model indicated that academic self-efficacy and social self-efficacy were unique mediators in the relationships between parental involvement (both paternal involvement and maternal involvement) and adolescent positive affect. Besides, academic self-efficacy was found to be the only unique mediator in the relationships between parental involvement and adolescent life satisfaction. Emotional self-efficacy did not uniquely mediate the relationships between parental involvement and adolescent positive affect and life satisfaction. None of the proposed mediators uniquely mediated the relationships between parental involvement and adolescent negative affect. This study suggests that paternal involvement is just as crucial to adolescent positive development as maternal involvement. In addition, this study also extends our insight into the specific roles of academic, social, and emotional self-efficacy in the relationship between parental involvement and the components of subjective well-being among adolescents.     

Economic Stress,Emotional Quality of Life,and Problem Behavior in Chinese Adolescents with and without Economic Disadvantage

The relationships between perceived economic stress (current economic hardship and future economic worry) and emotional quality of life (existential well-being, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of mastery, psychological morbidity) as well as problem behavior (substance abuse and delinquency) were examined in 1519 Chinese adolescents with and without economic disadvantage. Results showed that perceived economic stress was related to emotional quality of life as well as problem behavior in adolescents and the relationships were generally stronger in adolescents with economic disadvantage than in adolescents without economic disadvantage. Adolescents with higher levels of emotional quality of life displayed lower levels of adolescent problem behavior. Finally, adolescents with economic disadvantage displayed higher levels of current economic hardship and future economic worry than did adolescents without economic disadvantage.     

Economic Stress, Emotional Quality of Life, and Problem Behavior in Chinese Adolescents with and without Economic Disadvantage

The relationships between perceived economic stress (current economic hardship and future economic worry) and emotional quality of life (existential well-being, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of mastery, psychological morbidity) as well as problem behavior (substance abuse and delinquency) were examined in 1519 Chinese adolescents with and without economic disadvantage. Results showed that perceived economic stress was related to emotional quality of life as well as problem behavior in adolescents and the relationships were generally stronger in adolescents with economic disadvantage than in adolescents without economic disadvantage. Adolescents with higher levels of emotional quality of life displayed lower levels of adolescent problem behavior. Finally, adolescents with economic disadvantage displayed higher levels of current economic hardship and future economic worry than did adolescents without economic disadvantage.     

The influence of peers and parents on youth life satisfaction in Hong Kong

This investigation attempts to measure the relative influence of peer and parental influence on the perceived life satisfaction of two groups of secondary students in Hong Kong. Data on 1906 students from 30 schools were collected through the use of a self-administered questionnaire. Respondents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction on 26 different domains of life on a seven-point scale, ranging from very satisfied to very dissatisfied, as well as their satisfaction with life in general. These 26 items were combined to form six summary indices of life satisfaction: school life, family life, acceptance by others, government, media, and living environment. Two independent variables were used in the analysis of life satisfaction: peer orientation, and parent orientation. Both are composite indices and measure the adolescent's attachment to and identification with his peers or parents. It was found that parent orientation is a better predictor of life satisfaction than peer orientation. Adolescents who are high on parent orientation are more satisfied with every domain of life. They are also more satisfied with life in general. The relationship between peer orientation and life satisfaction is not a clear-cut one. Adolescents with strong peer orientation are more satisfied with school, media, government, and acceptance by others, but are less satisfied with family. There is no significant relationship between peer orientation and environment. The younger adolescents in our sample tend to perceive a higher level of satisfaction than the older adolescents in every domain of life as well as life in general.     

School Satisfaction Among Adolescents: Testing Different Indicators for its Measurement and its Relationship with Overall Life Satisfaction and Subjective Well-Being in Romania and Spain

This paper presents results from two samples of adolescents aged 13–16 from Romania and Spain (N = 930 + 1,945 = 2,875). The original 7-item version of the Personal Well-Being Index (PWI) was used, together with an item on overall life satisfaction (OLS) and a set of six items related to satisfaction with school. A confirmatory factor analysis of the six school satisfaction items shows good fit statistics when relating them to a latent variable. However, said latent variable does not show a good fit when related to the OLS or the PWI. Tests have led to the conclusion that the item that best summarises satisfaction with school is “satisfaction with my life as a student”. Adding this item to the PWI-7 has shown a good fit with Structural Equation Modeling and higher standardised loading on the OLS. The analysis developed here, while confirming that the inclusion of a domain on satisfaction with school life contributes to the PWI with unique variance (2.5 % in this research), also offers an explanation for the surprising results obtained for adolescents in other countries (e.g. in Australia, Tomyn and Cummins in Soc Indicat Res 101(3):405–418 2010) by showing that satisfaction with friends at school and satisfaction with classmates did not significantly contribute to satisfaction with school. Our results suggest that school satisfaction is highly related to satisfaction with teachers, but weakly related to overall life satisfaction, while satisfaction with school friends and satisfaction with classmates are highly related to overall life satisfaction, but weakly related to satisfaction with school. Satisfaction with life as a student seems to be the item that best reconciles this “paradox” (in adults’ eyes), at least with our samples of Romanian and Spanish adolescents.