Top

Gepubliceerd in:

01-03-2011 | Empirical Research

Life Satisfaction and Student Engagement in Adolescents

Auteurs: Ashley D. Lewis, E. Scott Huebner, Patrick S. Malone, Robert F. Valois

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Youth and Adolescence | Uitgave 3/2011

Abstract

Situated within a positive psychology perspective, this study explored linkages between adolescent students’ positive subjective well-being and their levels of engagement in schooling. Specifically, using structural equation modeling techniques, we evaluated the nature and directionality of longitudinal relationships between life satisfaction and student engagement variables. It was hypothesized that adolescents’ life satisfaction and student engagement variables would show bidirectional relationships. To test this hypothesis, 779 students (53% female, 62% Caucasian) in a Southeastern US middle school completed a measure of global life satisfaction and measures of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement at two time points, 5 months apart. A statistically significant bidirectional relationship between life satisfaction and cognitive engagement was found; however, non-significant relationships were found between life satisfaction and emotional and behavioral student engagement. The findings provide important evidence of the role of early adolescents’ life satisfaction in their engagement in schooling during the important transition grades between elementary and high school. The findings also help extend the positive psychology perspective to the relatively neglected context of education.

volgende artikel Adolescent Thriving: The Role of Sparks, Relationships, and Empowerment

Anderson, A. R., Christenson, S. L., Sinclair, M. F., & Lehr, C. A. (2004). Check and connect: The importance of relationships for promoting engagement with school. Journal of School Psychology, 42, 95–113.CrossRef

Appleton, J. J., Christenson, S. L., & Furlong, M. J. (2008). Student engagement with school: Critical conceptual and methodological issues of the construct. Psychology in the Schools, 45, 369–386.CrossRef

Appleton, J. J., Christenson, S. L., Kim, D., & Reschly, A. (2006). Measuring cognitive and psychological engagement: Validation of the student engagement instrument. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 427–445.CrossRef

Arbuckle, J. L. (1996). Full information estimation in the presence of incomplete data. In G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacker (Eds.), Advanced structural equation modeling: Issues and techniques (pp. 243–277). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238–246.CrossRefPubMed

Bentler, P. M., & Bonett, D. G. (1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88, 588–606.CrossRef

Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2004). Life satisfaction among European American, African American, Chinese American, Mexican American, and Dominican American adolescents. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 385–400.CrossRef

Buhi, E. R., Goodson, P., & Neilands, T. B. (2008). Out of sight, not out of mind: Strategies of handling missing data. American Journal of Health Behavior, 32, 83–92.PubMed

Christenson, S. L., & Anderson, A. R. (2002). Commentary: The centrality of the learning context for students’ academic enabler skills. School Psychology Review, 32, 378–393.

Christenson, S. L., Reschly, A. L., Appleton, J. J., Berman, S., Spanjers, D., & Varro, P. (2008). Best practices in fostering student engagement. In J. Thomas, A. Thomas, & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology (5th ed.). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Cowen, E. L. (1994). The enhancement of psychological wellness: Challenges and opportunities. American Journal of Community Psychology, 22, 149–179.CrossRefPubMed

DeSantis-King, A. L., Huebner, S., Suldo, S. M., & Valois, R. F. (2006). An ecological view of school satisfaction in adolescence: Linkages between social support and behavior problems. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 1, 279–295.CrossRef

Dew, T., & Huebner, E. S. (1994). Adolescents’ perceived quality of life: An exploratory investigation. Journal of School Psychology, 33, 185–199.CrossRef

Diener, E., & Fujita, F. (1995). Resources, personal strivings, and subjective well-being: A nomothetic and idiographic approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 926–935.CrossRefPubMed

Diener, E., Scollon, C. M., & Lucas, R. E. (2004). The evolving concept of subjective well-being: The multifaceted nature of happiness. In P. T. Costa & I. C. Siegler (Eds.), The psychology of aging (Vol. 15, pp. 187–220). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Dodeen, H. M. (2003). Effectiveness of valid mean substitution in treating missing data in attitude assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 28, 505–513.CrossRef

Epstein, J., & McPartland, J. M. (1976). The concept and measurement of the quality of school life. American Educational Research Journal, 13, 15–30.

Finn, J. D. (1989). Withdrawing from school. Review of Educational Research, 59, 117–142.

Fredericks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74, 59–109.CrossRef

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P., Friedel, J., & Paris, A. (2005). School engagement. In K. A. Moore & L. H. Lippman (Eds.), What do children need to flourish? Conceptualizing and measuring indicators of positive development (pp. 305–321). New York, NY: Springer.CrossRef

Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. American Psychologist, 56, 218–226.CrossRefPubMed

Frisch, M. B., Clark, M. P., Rouse, S. V., Rudd, M. D., Paweleck, J. K., Greenstone, A., et al. (2005). Predictive and treatment validity of life satisfaction and the quality of life inventory. Assessment, 12, 66–78.CrossRefPubMed

Furlong, M. J., Whipple, A. D., St. Jean, G., Simental, J., Soliz, A., & Punthuna, S. (2003). Multiple contexts of school engagement: Moving toward a unifying framework for educational research and practice. The California School Psychologist, 8, 99–113.

Furrer, C., & Skinner, E. (2003). Sense of relatedness as a factor in children’s academic engagement and performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 148–162.CrossRef

Gilman, R., & Huebner, E. S. (2006). Characteristics of adolescents who report very high life satisfaction. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 311–319.CrossRef

Gilman, R., Huebner, E. S., & Laughlin, J. E. (2000). A first study of the multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale with adolescents. Social Indicators Research, 52, 135–160.CrossRef

Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55.CrossRef

Huebner, E. S. (1991). Initial development of the student’s life satisfaction scale. School Psychology International, 12, 231–240.CrossRef

Huebner, E. S. (1994). Preliminary development and validation of a multidimensional life satisfaction scale for children. Psychological Assessment, 6, 149–158.CrossRef

Huebner, E. S. (2004). Research on assessment of life satisfaction of children and adolescents. Social Indicators Research, 66, 3–33.CrossRef

Huebner, E. S., & Alderman, G. L. (1993). Convergent and discriminant validation of a children’s life satisfaction scale: Its relationship to self- and teacher-reported psychological problems and school functioning. Social Indicators Research, 30, 71–82.CrossRef

Huebner, E. S., & Gilman, R. (2006). Students who like and dislike school. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 1, 139–150.CrossRef

Huebner, E. S., Gilman, R., Reschly, A. L., & Hall, R. (2009). Positive schools. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 561–569). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Huebner, E. S., Laughlin, J. E., Ash, C., & Gilman, R. (1998). Further validation of the multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 16, 118–134.CrossRef

Huebner, E. S., Suldo, S. M., & Gilman, R. (2006). Life satisfaction. In G. Bear & K. Minke (Eds.), Children’s Needs III (pp. 357–368). Washington, DC: National Association of School Psychologists.

Leung, C. Y. W., McBride-Chang, C., & Lai, B. P. Y. (2004). Relations among maternal parenting style, academic competence, and life satisfaction in Chinese early adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence, 24, 113–143.CrossRef

Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005a). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803–855.CrossRefPubMed

Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005b). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111–131.CrossRef

Ma, C. Q., & Huebner, E. S. (2008). Attachment relationships and adolescents’ life satisfaction: Some relationships matter more to girls than to boys. Psychology in the Schools, 45, 177–190.CrossRef

MacDonald, R., & Marsh, J. (2004). Missing school: Educational engagement, youth transitions, and social exclusion. Youth & Society, 36, 143–162.CrossRef

Marsh, H. W. (1986). Negative item bias in rating scales for preadolescent children: A cognitive-developmental phenomenon. Developmental Psychology, 22, 37–49.CrossRef

Marsh, H. W., & Craven, R. G. (2006). Reciprocal effects of self-concept and performance from a multidimensional perspective: Beyond seductive pleasure and unidimensional perspectives. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 133–163.CrossRef

Martin, K., Huebner, E. S., & Valois, R. F. (2008). Does life satisfaction predict victimization experiences in adolescence? Psychology in the Schools, 45, 705–714.CrossRef

McKnight, C. G., Huebner, E. S., & Suldo, S. M. (2002). Relationships among stressful life events, temperament, problem behavior, and global life satisfaction in adolescents. Psychology in the Schools, 39, 677–687.CrossRef

Muthen, L. K., & Muthen, B. O. (1998–2009). Mplus Version 5.21. Los Angeles, CA: Muthen & Muthen.

Noddings, N. (2003). Happiness and education. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef

Ou, S. (2008). Do GED recipients differ from graduates and school drop-outs? Findings from an inner-city cohort. Urban Education, 43, 83–117.CrossRef

Park, N., & Huebner, E. S. (2005). A cross-cultural study of the levels and correlates of life satisfaction among adolescents. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 36, 444–456.CrossRef

Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). The review of the satisfaction with life scale. Psychological Assessment, 5, 164–172.CrossRef

Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Proctor, C. L., Linley, P.A., & Maltby, J. (2008). Youth life satisfaction: A review of the literature. Journal of Happiness Studies. DOI 10.1007/s10902-008-9110-9.

Reschly, A. L., Huebner, E. S., Appleton, J. J., & Antaramian, S. (2008). Engagement as flourishing: The contribution of positive emotions and coping to adolescents’ engagement at school and with learning. Psychology in the Schools, 45, 419–431.CrossRef

Roeser, R. W., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). Schooling and mental health. In A. J. Sameroff, M. Lewis, & S. M. Miller (Eds.), Handbook of developmental psychopathology (2nd ed., pp. 135–156). New York: Plenum.

Rumsberger, R. W. (1995). Dropping out of middle school: A multilevel analysis of students and schools. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 583–625.

Saha, R., Huebner, E.S., Suldo, S.M., & Valois, R.F. (in press). A longitudinal study of adolescent life satisfaction and parenting. Child Indicators Research.

Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14.CrossRefPubMed

Shocet, I. M., Dadds, M. R., Ham, D., & Montague, R. (2006). School connectedness is an underemphasized parameter in adolescent mental health: Results of a community prediction study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 170–179.CrossRef

Sin, N. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A practice friendly meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, 65, 467–487.PubMed

Suldo, S. M., & Huebner, E. S. (2004a). Does life satisfaction moderate the effects of stressful life events on psychopathological behavior during adolescence? School Psychology Quarterly, 19, 93–105.CrossRef

Suldo, S. M., & Huebner, E. S. (2004b). The role of life satisfaction in the relationship between authoritative parenting dimensions and adolescent behavior problems. Social Indicators Research, 66, 165–195.CrossRef

Suldo, S. M., & Huebner, E. S. (2006). Is extremely high life satisfaction during adolescence advantageous? Social Indicators Research, 78, 179–203.CrossRef

Suldo, S. M., Riley, K. N., & Shaffer, E. J. (2006). Academic correlates of children and adolescents’ life satisfaction. School Psychology International, 27, 567–582.CrossRef

Suldo, S. M., & Shaffer, E. J. (2008). Looking beyond psychopathology: The dual-factor model of mental health in youth. School Psychology Review, 37, 52–68.

Tucker, L. R., & Lewis, C. (1973). A reliability coefficient for maximum likelihood factor analysis. Psychometrika, 38, 1–10.CrossRef

Zimmerman, M. A., Salem, D. A., & Maton, K. I. (1995). Family structure and psychosocial correlates among urban African-American adolescent males. Child Development, 66, 1598–1613.CrossRefPubMed

Titel: Life Satisfaction and Student Engagement in Adolescents
Auteurs: Ashley D. Lewis
E. Scott Huebner
Patrick S. Malone
Robert F. Valois
Publicatiedatum: 01-03-2011
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Youth and Adolescence / Uitgave 3/2011
Print ISSN: 0047-2891
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-6601
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9517-6

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

Deel dit onderdeel of sectie (kopieer de link)

Abstract

Log in om toegang te krijgen

Andere artikelen Uitgave 3/2011

The Roles of Mothers’ Neighborhood Perceptions and Specific Monitoring Strategies in Youths’ Problem Behavior

Social Connections, Trajectories of Hopelessness, and Serious Violence in Impoverished Urban Youth

The Development of Criminal Style in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: Separating the Lemmings from the Loners

Patrick Parkinson and Judy Cashmore: The Voice of a Child in Family Law Disputes

The Role of Religiosity in the Relationship Between Parents, Peers, and Adolescent Risky Sexual Behavior

The Role of Important Non-Parental Adults (VIPs) in the Lives of Older Adolescents: A Comparison of Three Ethnic Groups