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A contextualized measure of Overall Life Satisfaction among adolescents: differences by gender

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  • Maria Aymerich

    (University of Girona)

  • Ferran Casas

    (University of Girona)

Abstract

The main aim of the present study is to explore and test an indicator of subjective wellbeing for adolescents: the Present Overall Life Satisfaction (POLS), derived from subjects’ consciously contextualized reflections on their own life cycle. We believe this to be a novel and innovative approach compared to those instruments traditionally used to date, given that it relates SWB measurement to its time axis. The article also explores this indicator’s performance in relation to gender and levels of anxiety and depression. The sample comprised 614 adolescents with an average age of 16.6 years (Dt = 0.74; age range = 16–19), 58.1% of whom were girls and 41.9% boys. As well as the proposed indicator, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and Students’ Life Satisfaction Scales (SLSS) were used as indicators of subjective well-being, and the Goldberg Anxiety and Depression Scale (GADS) as indicators of unease. Life satisfaction scores were higher among boys than among girls. These significantly lower levels of satisfaction in adolescent girls are also associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression than among boys. The results confirm that the Present Overall Life Satisfaction (POLS) is a good indicator of subjective well-being, since it captures core aspects that are considered to form part of that construct. That said, it is also evident that it captures different aspects than those of traditional indicators based on context-free scales, thereby opening new avenues of research to better understanding how adolescents evaluate their overall satisfaction with life.

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  • Maria Aymerich & Ferran Casas, 2020. "A contextualized measure of Overall Life Satisfaction among adolescents: differences by gender," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(6), pages 2241-2260, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:13:y:2020:i:6:d:10.1007_s12187-020-09747-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s12187-020-09747-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Mònica González-Carrasco & Ferran Casas & Ferran Viñas & Sara Malo & M. Eugènia Gras & Lívia Bedin, 2017. "What Leads Subjective Well-Being to Change Throughout Adolescence? An Exploration of Potential Factors," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(1), pages 33-56, March.
    7. Ferran Casas & Sergiu Bălţătescu & Irma Bertran & Mònica González & Adrian Hatos, 2013. "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," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(3), pages 665-681, May.
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    11. Llosada-Gistau, Joan & Montserrat, Carme & Casas, Ferran, 2015. "The subjective well-being of adolescents in residential care compared to that of the general population," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 150-157.
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    2. José E. Moral-Garcia & Alfredo Jiménez & Antonio S. Cabaco & Alfredo Jiménez-Eguizabal, 2021. "The Role of Physical Activity and School Physical Education in Enhancing School Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-13, February.
    3. Maria Aymerich & Ramon Cladellas & Antoni Castelló & Ferran Casas & Mònica Cunill, 2021. "The Evolution of Life Satisfaction Throughout Childhood and Adolescence: Differences in Young People’s Evaluations According to Age and Gender," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(6), pages 2347-2369, December.

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