The association between sense of coherence and life satisfaction in adolescents

The present paper investigated possible gender and age differences on life satisfaction as well as the association between sense of coherence (SOC) and life satisfaction. The interaction effect of gender by SOC and age by SOC in relation to life satisfaction was also investigated. A total of 1,239 adolescents (13-18 years) from public elementary and secondary schools in Mid-Norway participated in the school-based survey study. Two-way between-groups ANOVA was employed to investigate gender and age differences on life satisfaction, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between SOC and life satisfaction, controlled for gender, age, physical activity, and subjective health. The results showed that boys scored higher on life satisfaction than girls across all ages, except in the age group 17-18 years, where girls scored higher than boys. SOC was strongly and positively associated with life satisfaction. However, no interaction effect of gender by SOC or age by SOC on life satisfaction was found, showing that the strength of the association between SOC and life satisfaction does not differ between genders or across age groups. The results give support for the positive role of SOC in relation to subjective well-being in adolescents.