Pathways of Adolescent Life Satisfaction Association with Family Support, Structure and Affluence: A Cross-National Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Despite the importance of life satisfaction for health and well-being, there is a paucity of cross-national comparative studies in life satisfaction related to the family environment. The present research examined the pathways of life satisfaction association with perceived family support and other family environment variables among adolescents aged from 11 to 15 years in 45 countries. Materials and Methods: Samples from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey in 2017/2018 were analysed (n = 188,619). Path analysis was applied to evaluate the associations among the study variables. Results: A positive association between the life satisfaction score and high family support was identified in all 45 countries (standardized regression weight ranged from 0.067 to 0.420, p < 0.05). In majority of countries, living with both parents and higher levels of family affluence had a positive effect on adolescent life satisfaction both directly and indirectly through family support. In the described path model, the proportion of life satisfaction score variance that was accounted for by family support, family structure, family affluence, gender and age was up to 25.3%. The path models made it possible to group the participating countries into two clusters. In the first cluster (10 countries) the Eastern and Southern European countries dominated, while the second cluster (35 countries) united the countries of Western and Central Europe. Conclusions: There is evidence that countries with high level of adolescent life satisfaction differ in the high rate of intact family structure and the strong relation between family support and perceived life satisfaction.

Developmental assets as predictors of Albanian adolescents’ life satisfaction

“…Feeling safe and protected at home, school, and in the neighborhood played a crucial role in the development of positive assets in adolescents. These findings are consistent with previous studies (Zaborskis et al, 2022;Schnettler et al, 2018;Tao, Chen, Lu, & Yan, 2022).…”

“…It is evident that young people who lead fulfilling lives tend to have higher levels of internal and external assets. Research suggests that youth with higher levels of developmental assets experience greater life satisfaction and perceive more support from their families and schools, leading to increased community involvement (Zaborskis et al, 2022). Higher levels of life satisfaction have a positive impact on mental health and are associated with adaptive strategies for positive interactions with the environment (Refaeli Weiss-Dagan et al, 2022).…”

Adolescent Toothbrushing and Its Association with Sociodemographic Factors—Time Trends from 1994 to 2018 in Twenty Countries

“…While living with both biological parents may explain inequalities in adolescent general health and life quality [38,39] and may affect several risk behaviours [40][41][42], only a few studies have examined this possible role of family structure in oral health-related behaviour [43]. Previous studies found that the association between family characteristics, such as the absence of one of the parents, and toothbrushing behaviours of children appeared to be rather weak and inconsistent [13].…”

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