Parent, school and peer-related correlates of adolescents' life satisfaction

The main goal of the present study was to examine social correlates of adolescents' life satisfaction and to explore gender differences in the role of parent, school and peer-related variables. Using a sample of 881 high school students in Szeged, Hungary (N=881, ages 14-20, 44.6% female), findings supported the claim that parents continued to be an important correlate of adolescents' well-being. Talking about problems with parents was an universal correlate. In addition, our results confirmed that being happy with school and good academic achievement were associated with adolescents' overall well-being in both girls and boys. However, while boys might benefit more from parental support and joint activities, such as having dinner together, life satisfaction among girls was associated with the number of caring friends and acceptance of parental values. These findings underline the need for using a gender perspective when analyzing youth life satisfaction. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.