J Youth Adolescence (2011) 40:889–901

DOI 10.1007/s10964-010-9599-1

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

Life Satisfaction in Early Adolescence: Personal, Neighborhood,

School, Family, and Peer Influences
Eva Oberle • Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl •

Bruno D. Zumbo

Received: 24 June 2010 / Accepted: 12 October 2010 / Published online: 2 November 2010
 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Abstract Drawing from an ecological assets framework Introduction

as well as research and theory on positive youth develop-
ment, this study examined the relationship of early ado- Theory and research support the notion that subjective
lescents’ satisfaction with life to trait optimism and assets well-being—an umbrella term concerned with an indi-
representing the social contexts in which early adolescents vidual’s evaluation of his or her own life—is an important
spend most of their time. Self-reports of satisfaction with construct for understanding psychological well-being and
life, optimism, and ecological assets in the school (school overall mental health (Diener and Diener 2009; Gilman
connectedness), neighborhood (perceived neighborhood and Huebner 2003; Proctor et al. 2009). Subjective well-
support), family (perceived parental support), and peer being can include either cognitive judgments, such as life
group (positive peer relationships) were assessed in a satisfaction, or emotional responses to events, such as
sample of 1,402 4th to 7th graders (47% female) from 25 feeling positive emotions (Diener and Diener 2009). Life
public elementary schools. Multilevel modeling (MLM) satisfaction is an important construct in the field of posi-
was conducted to analyze the variability in life satisfaction tive psychology because it is closely associated with
both at the individual and the school level. As hypothe- happiness as well as a range of positive personal, behav-
sized, adding optimism and the dimensions representing ioral, psychological, and social outcomes (e.g., Diener
the ecology of early adolescence to the model significantly 2009; Lyubomirsky et al. 2005). Much of the research
reduced the variability in life satisfaction at both levels of conducted to date on subjective well-being in general and
analysis. Both personal (optimism) and all of the ecological life satisfaction in particular, however, has been carried
assets significantly and positively predicted early adoles- out primarily with adult populations (e.g., Diener et al.
cents’ life satisfaction. The results suggest the theoretical 1999), and comparatively limited work has examined life
and practical utility of an assets approach for understanding satisfaction in children and adolescents (Gadermann et al.
life satisfaction in early adolescence. 2010; Huebner 2004). Moreover, there has been relatively
little research specifying the critical elements of contex-
Keywords Early adolescence  Life satisfaction  tual factors important for life satisfaction in a large
Ecological context  Assets  Multilevel modeling community sample of early adolescents (for exceptions,
see Gilman and Huebner 2003; Proctor et al. 2009). Given
that subjective well-being has consistently been identified
E. Oberle (&)  K. A. Schonert-Reichl  B. D. Zumbo as a significant psychological factor associated with
Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology,
positive growth, health, and well-being in adults (Diener
and Special Education, The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC, Canada and Diener 2009), increasing the understanding of life
e-mail: eva_oberle@yahoo.de satisfaction in early adolescence is important because it
K. A. Schonert-Reichl allows researchers to relate subjective well-being to
e-mail: kimberly.schonert-reichl@ubc.ca critical contemporaneous developmental characteristics,
B. D. Zumbo such as social adjustment, mental health, and school
e-mail: bruno.zumbo@ubc.ca performance.

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In light of the limited research conducted with younger children, are core assets that serve protective and promo-
populations, the current study was designed to extend the tive functions that direct youth on positive developmental
understanding of subjective well-being in early adoles- trajectories (Masten 2001; Wright and Masten 2005).
cence by examining the ways in which critical personal and Given the increasing significance of social relationships
ecological assets jointly influence life satisfaction. Seeking outside the family (Eccles and Roeser 2009; Luciana
to identify assets from important contexts in early adoles- 2010), the school environment and peer group are partic-
cents’ development, we draw from aspects of bioecological ularly important contexts that influence development dur-
systems theory (e.g., Lerner 2002), positive youth devel- ing this time period (Battistich 2005). Past research has
opment (Benson 1997), positive psychology (Huebner et al. revealed that high levels of school connectedness operate
2006), and ecological contexts theory (Bronfenbrenner as a protective force for youth and are positively related to
1989). Investigating subjective well-being in a large com- self-esteem, academic engagement, academic achievement,
munity sample of early adolescents, the objective of this motivation, and adjustment in school (Anderman and
study was to reveal the importance of positive personal Freeman 2004; Furlong et al. 2003; Haynes et al. 1997;
traits and supportive relationships in important develop- Osterman 2000; Whitlock 2006). In contrast, low levels of
mental contexts in relationship to satisfaction with life. school connectedness have been associated with increased
risk of peer victimization (Skues et al. 2005; Young 2004)
Developmental Systems Theory and Assets and depressive symptoms in adolescence (Shochet et al.
2006). Experiencing a strong sense of belonging and con-
The course, pace, and direction of development during the nectedness to school can thus be considered a critical factor
adolescent years is influenced by relationships between the in overall positive youth development, contributing to
individual and his or her context (Theokas and Lerner social and emotional well-being, and academic growth in
2006). Developmental systems theory views human early adolescence.
development as a bidirectional, individual $ context In addition to the significance of relationships in the
relational process with multiple individual factors and school context, recent research has also emphasized the
different levels of organization within the social ecology, importance of supportive and caring adults in communities
and underscores the plasticity of human development and neighborhoods for promoting positive development in
(Theokas and Lerner 2006). As posited by Theokas et al. children and youth (e.g., Battistich 2005; Scales et al. 2001,
(2005, p. 114), ‘‘[i]nstead of anticipating and trying to fix 2006). Benson (2003) and Eccles and Gootman (2002)
or prevent problems, this new paradigm considers the have argued that communities and neighborhoods are
strengths, competencies, and contributions that youth can ecological contexts that play a vital, but largely unrealized,
make, and ways to align these strengths with resources and role in influencing positive development throughout ado-
supports in the environment to maximize healthy devel- lescence. According to these authors, perceived social
opment of individuals and society.’’ Fostering adaptive support in the neighborhood is one of the key ecological
regulation between the individual and the multiple contexts assets that helps youth to thrive and develop positively. A
of development (e.g., family, peer group, school, commu- basic theoretical assumption is that both healthy develop-
nity) can be an important step to increase the likelihood of ment and well-being are inextricably linked to a sense of
positive development and thriving (Lerner et al. 2010). belonging, connectedness, and participation in community
Indeed, several recent studies have shown that supportive and neighborhood groups (Baumeister and Leary 1995;
families, schools, peer groups, and communities are Putnam 2000). However, little empirical research has been
important for positive development and well-being during conducted on the link between perceived community and
early adolescence (Benson and Scales 2009; Hughes et al. neighborhood support to indicators of well-being (Farrell
2008; Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn 2000; Li et al. 2010; et al. 2004), particularly during the early adolescent years.
Scales et al. 2006). Because early adolescents interact in One exception is a study by Theokas et al. (2005). In a
ever widening social environments, shifting their focus sample of 50,000 early adolescents, these authors found
from the family to the peer group, and relationships in the that the ecological asset of self-reported community con-
school and community context (Eccles and Roeser 2009; nection was positively and significantly related to several
Steinberg 2005; Wigfield et al. 2006), the external envi- behavioral indicators of thriving, such as having high
ronment becomes increasingly important during this time. expectations for oneself, and holding a positive identity.
Accordingly, research on positive adaptation and compe- The results of this study are promising because they align
tence indicates that dimensions in the external environ- with important theoretical assumptions about the signifi-
ment, such as caring and supportive caretakers, a sense of cance of community support in early adolescence and
belonging to school, friendships with prosocial peers, and throughout the life span (e.g., Baumeister and Leary 1995;
living in a neighborhood that supports families and Theokas and Lerner 2006). However, further research

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needs to be conducted to reveal significant connections teachers. Furthermore, a positive relationship has been
between community support and indicators of well-being found between perceived parental support and life satis-
in youths across multiple domains of development, such faction in adolescence (Valois et al. 2009). The consistency
as positive social, emotional, mental, and academic of these findings revealing a positive connection between
development. youths’ satisfaction with life and important positive rela-
Research indicates that both ecological and personal tionships as well as developmental characteristics, aligns
assets are critical for young people to thrive and flourish with previous findings in adult populations (Diener and
(Lerner et al. 2010), thus there is a clear need for Diener 2009). Such research is promising because it sug-
researchers to concurrently examine the role of personal gests that life satisfaction is significantly related to other
trait assets as well as ecological assets at multiple levels important indicators of mental health and social and
(i.e., family, peer group, school, and neighborhood), when emotional well-being, and can thus provide insight into
linking assets to indicators of well-being during the years children’s and adolescents’ happiness and optimal func-
of early adolescence. In the literature on personal assets, tioning in development.
dispositional optimism, or a positive outlook on life, has Fewer studies have focused on the relationship between
been described as an essential and key protective personal life satisfaction and school specific assets, such as the
trait that contributes to adjustment and positive develop- feeling of belonging to and connectedness with school.
ment (Kumpfer 1999; Wright and Masten 2005), and has Valois et al. (2009) posit that there is a general lack of
been identified as a promotive factor for overall health and research investigating the relationship between life satis-
well-being (Scheier and Carver 1993). To date, the study of faction and assets in development, such as perceived sup-
optimism has primarily been conducted with adult samples port from adults and teachers, school support, and positive
and research on optimism in childhood and adolescence peer relationships. In a longitudinal study exploring the
has received little attention (Deptula et al. 2006). None- link between life satisfaction and dimensions of student
theless, there is some empirical evidence that suggests that engagement in a sample of 779 middle school students,
optimism is valuable psychological trait in early adoles- Lewis et al. (2010) found a significant and bidirectional
cence as well. For instance, a previous study revealed relationship between life satisfaction and cognitive
significant and positive associations between trait-opti- engagement. Specifically, higher life satisfaction in the
mism and positive peer- and adult relationships in a sample beginning of the school year significantly predicted stron-
of pre- and early adolescents (Schonert-Reichl et al. 2008). ger beliefs in the importance of school 5 months later.
Furthermore, optimism has been shown to positively pre- Furthermore, students with higher life satisfaction also
dict peer acceptance (Oberle et al. 2010), and has been reported feeling more connected to school and liked school
found to be negatively related to peer victimization, more. Given the increasing amount of time early adoles-
rejection and loneliness (Deptula et al. 2006). Whereas cents spend in schools and in their communities, there is a
personal assets and ecological assets are independently particular need for further research investigating life sat-
critical and important in positive and healthy development, isfaction in relation to school and neighborhood charac-
theory and research indicates that well-being, thriving, and teristics and the significant relationships young people
positive growth can best be understood when choosing an form within those environments.
integrative framework that incorporates personal as well
as contextual assets in relationship to children’s and ado-
lescents’ developmental outcomes (Theokas and Lerner Study Purpose and Hypotheses
2006).
The purpose of this research was to examine early ado-
Correlates of Life Satisfaction in Youth lescents’ life satisfaction as it relates to both personal and
ecological assets. In accord with the ecological approach to
Past research has identified life satisfaction as a positive human development (Bronfenbrenner 1989), and the posi-
indicator of several dimensions of well-being in youth (see tive youth development approach (e.g., Damon 2004;
Proctor et al. 2009 for a review), such as positive person- Larson 2000), we defined ecological assets in the family,
ality characteristics, health and psychopathology, life peer, school, and neighborhood context (i.e., parental
events, social relationships, and living environments. For support, positive peer relationships, school belonging,
instance, Gilman and Huebner (2003) found that high neighborhood support) that have been identified to be
levels of life satisfaction were positively related to inter- especially critical during the early adolescent age-period
personal relations, positive relationships with parents, and (Theokas et al. 2005). Additionally, we included optimism
hope, and negatively related to depressive symptoms, as a personal trait asset in our model because optimism has
anxiety, and a negative attitude towards school and been identified to be a valuable psychological resource that

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protects and promotes both mental and physical health in from 65 classrooms (4th to 7th grade) in 25 public elemen-
adolescent development (e.g., Brodhagen and Wise 2008). tary schools across eight school districts.
Although previous studies have examined the relation- Of those early adolescents invited to participate, 87%
ship of individual and contextual factors to adolescent life gave assent and received parental/guardian consent to
satisfaction (see Gilman and Huebner 2003 for a review), participate, resulting in a total of 1,402 participants (47%
fewer studies have examined such relationships in a large female) who were on average 11 years and 6 months old
community sample of early adolescents. Furthermore, few (SD = 1.03). In total, 147 participants were in 4th grade,
studies have connected life satisfaction with school char- 306 in 5th grade, 471 in 6th grade, and 478 in 7th grade.
acteristics (Valois et al. 2009) and, to our knowledge, no Sixty three percent of the students reported English as their
research has been conducted investigating life satisfac- first language learned at home; the remaining early ado-
tion’s relationship to neighborhood support. One particular lescents reported Chinese (13%), Punjabi (4%), Korean
strength of this study is the use of multilevel modeling (4%), Vietnamese (3%), or another language (e.g., Farsi,
(MLM) to examine variability occurring in life satisfaction Tagalog, Hindi). The wide range of languages spoken by
due to characteristics of specific contexts in which students participants in this study is representative of the ethnically
develop (i.e., school, neighborhood). MLM can thus be diverse population in the districts in which data were col-
used to separate the importance of assets at the level of the lected. All students spoke English fluently. Regarding
individual from those at the level of the school context. family composition, 73% of the early adolescents reported
We hypothesized that in a model including two levels of living with a mother and a father (this included biological
analysis (i.e., student-level, school-level), school-connect- as well as reconstituted families with stepparents). Nine
edness and average perceived neighborhood support would percent of adolescents reported living half time with their
be positive and significant school-level-predictors for life mother and half time with their father, and the remaining
satisfaction in early adolescence above and beyond their adolescents reported other family configurations, including
effect at the student-level. We also hypothesized that mother only, grandparents, and foster care.
optimism, positive relationships with peers, and perceived
parental support would be significant and positive student- Procedure
level-predictors. Finally, we hypothesized that the addition
of school-level variables and student-level variables would Data were gathered in the Spring semester during two
explain a significant portion of student- as well as school- regular 45-minute class periods. Prior to providing early
level variability in life satisfaction. adolescents with parental permission slips, a trained
research assistant or the principal investigator of the
research project provided a 15-minute presentation to each
Method participating class, describing the study in age-appropriate
language. Early adolescents were told that the study was a
Participants survey of 4th to 7th grade students’ experiences within and
outside of school. All students who received parental
A stratified random sampling procedure was employed consent signed assent forms that stated assurances of
across eight school districts located in urban and suburban confidentiality. Research assistants administered the survey
areas in Western Canada. Stratification was done according to the adolescents by reading questions out loud to the
to the neighborhood level vulnerability rates for children’s students while teachers remained in their classrooms.
development, as reported by the Human Early Learning
Partnership (Kershaw et al. 2005; www.earlylearning.ubc.ca Measures
). The vulnerability rates were determined according to the
Early Development Instrument (EDI; see Janus and Offord The internal consistency reported in the text refers to the
2007), a teacher-report measure that assesses children’s average Cronbach’s alpha in the sample. Because the
school readiness in five domains (i.e., Physical health and sample consisted of participants across a wide span of
well-being, Social competence, Emotional maturity, Lan- grade levels, Table 1 provides an overview of the internal
guage and cognitive development, Communication skills). consistencies for each of the study measures by grade.
Kershaw et al. (2005) report high correlations between vul-
nerability rates and socioeconomic status at the neighbor- Demographic Information
hood level. We randomly selected and approached schools
stratified by ‘‘high,’’ ‘‘medium,’’ and ‘‘low’’ vulnerability A demographic questionnaire was administered to each
rates within the school districts to obtain a diverse repre- student to gather information about his or her gender, age,
sentation of participants. Early adolescents were recruited grade, first language learned, and family composition.

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Table 1 Internal consistency of measures by grade level

Cronbach’s alpha
4th graders 5th graders 6th graders 7th graders

1. Life satisfaction .82 .86 .86 .97

2. Optimism .75 .79 .80 .79
3. Perceived parental support .78 .78 .82 .82
4. Positive peer relationships .78 .84 .86 .82
5. School connectedness .90 .88 .88 .88
6. Perceived neighborhood support .91 .93 .94 .93

Life Satisfaction which in their neighborhood or community (NOT in their

school or family) there was a supportive relationship with a
Life satisfaction was assessed using the Satisfaction With non-related adult (e.g., ‘‘… there is an adult who really
Life Scale for Children (SWLS-C; Gadermann et al. 2010), cares about me,’’ ‘‘… there is an adult who tells me when I
an adaptation of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; do a good job,’’ and ‘‘… there is an adult who notices when
Diener et al. 1985), which is a five-item instrument that I am upset about something.’’). Cronbach’s alpha was
assesses global life satisfaction. A validation study of the satisfactory in the present study (a = .93).
SWLS-C indicated that the instrument was psychometri-
cally sound and showed construct validity in a sample of Parental Support
4th to 7th graders (Gadermann et al. 2010; Gadermann
et al. in press). Students were asked to rate the five items on Early adolescents’ perceived support by their primary
a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = Disagree a lot to caretakers was assessed with the Parental Support subscale
5 = Agree a lot. Sample items were: ‘‘In most ways my of the California Healthy Kids Survey (WestEd 2005). The
life is close to the way I want it to be,’’ and ‘‘So far, I have subscale consists of six items. On a scale from 1 = Not at
gotten the important things I want in life.’’ Cronbach’s all true to 4 = Very much true, early adolescents were
alpha in this sample was satisfactory (a = .86). asked to rate statements concerning their parent/caregiver
at home, for example ‘‘In my home, there is a parent/
School Connectedness caregiver or another adult who talks with me about my
problems,’’ ‘‘In my home, there is a parent/caregiver or
Sense of school connectedness was assessed via the another adult who believes that I will be a success,’’ and
14-item Sense of School as a Community Scale developed ‘‘In my home, there is a parent/caregiver or another adult
by the Developmental Studies Center to assess school who always wants me to do my best.’’ Cronbach’s alpha
connectedness in 3rd to 6th graders (DSC 1994). Rated in this study was .81, indicating satisfactory internal
on a 5-point-scale ranging from 1 = Disagree a lot to consistency.
5 = Agree a lot, students were asked how much they agreed
with statements such as ‘‘When I am having a problem, Positive Peer Relationships
some other student will help me,’’ ‘‘Students in this school
really care about each other,’’ and ‘‘I feel I can talk to the We assessed early adolescents’ positive peer relationships
teachers in this school about things that are bothering me.’’ using the Relationships with Peers subscale from the
Cronbach’s alpha in this sample was satisfactory (a = .88). Resiliency Inventory (RI; Noam and Goldstein 1998; Song
2003). The subscale is comprised of seven items assessing
Perceived Neighborhood Support respondents’ relationships with friends (sample items: ‘‘I
make friends easily,’’ ‘‘I have a friend I can trust,’’ ‘‘I have
We used the Neighborhood Support subscale of the Cali- fun with my friends’’). Students were asked to rate each
fornia Healthy Kids Survey (WestEd 2005) to assess the item on a 5- point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = Not
existence of non-related supportive adults that early ado- at all like me, 2 = A little bit like me, 3 = Kind of like me,
lescents perceived in their community/neighborhood. The 4 = A lot like me, to 5 = Always like me. According to
subscale consists of seven items. On a scale from 1 = Not Song’s (2003) validation study of the RI, participants with
at all true to 4 = Very much true, early adolescents were high scores on this factor were likely to be popular among
asked to rate each of the seven items as to the degree to friends, experienced having friends as fun and positive, and

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were overall characterized by having an active social life the model. Student-level variables were group-mean cen-
with peers. For the present research study Cronbach’s alpha tered, and school-level variables were grand-mean centered
for the Relationships with Peers subscale was satisfactory to facilitate interpretation (see Peugh and Enders 2005, for a
(a = .83). brief introduction into centering procedures). Restricted
maximum likelihood REML was chosen as estimation
Optimism method in all models because it provides more accurate
variance estimates in smaller sample sizes (e.g., Peugh
We assessed early adolescents’ optimism with the Opti- 2010). First, an unconditional model with no predictors was
mism subscale from the Resiliency Inventory (RI; Noam built (Model 1). Second, a conditional model was built with
and Goldstein 1998; Song 2003). The scale consists of nine the five student-level predictors and the two school school-
items assessing respondents’ positive perspective on the level predictors as fixed effects (Model 2). The estimated
world and the future in general (sample item: ‘‘More good parameters and variance explained in Model 2 were com-
things than bad things will happen to me’’). Students were pared to those in the initial null model.
asked to rate each item on a 5-point Likert-type scale The rationale for excluding demographic variables such
ranging from 1 = Not at all like me, 2 = A little bit like as gender, grade, and ESL was that the addition of three
me, 3 = Kind of like me, 4 = A lot like me, 5 = Always variables to the model would have led to compromises in
like me. For the present research study, Cronbach’s alpha power given the small school-level sample size (N = 25).
for the Optimism subscale was acceptable (a = .79). Moreover, including the demographic variables in our
analyses did not change the overall pattern of the results for
the five variables of interest.
Results
Preliminary Analyses
Data Analytic Procedure
Initial analyses indicated that normality of the Level 1
MLM was conducted using the SPSS-mixed procedure residuals and Level 2 residuals in the model could be
(Peugh and Enders 2005), modeling early adolescents’ life assumed. The model residuals were uncorrelated with
satisfaction as a linear function of student- and school-level Level 1 and Level 2 predictors in the model. Table 2
variables. Student-level variables of main interest were provides an overview of the intercorrelation of all variables
optimism (OP), positive peer relationships (PR), and per- included in the analysis, and displays ranges, means, and
ceived parental support (PPS). We were interested in the standard deviations for all variables.
effect of school connectedness (AvgSC) and perceived
neighborhood support (AvgPNS) at the school level, and
Multilevel Analyses
therefore aggregated respondents’ scores within each school
to a school average. The rationale for entering perceived
Unconditional Model (Model 1)
neighborhood support as a school-level variable in the model
was that schools are set in neighborhoods and typically,
A basic unconditional means model was built to test the
students attend a school in their neighborhood; thus per-
proportion of variation in life satisfaction scores occurring
ceived neighborhood support by students from the same
between schools.
school cannot not be considered to be independent of each
other.1 However, to control for effects at the individual level, Level 1 ðindividualÞ: Yij ¼ b0j þ rij
school connectedness (SC) and perceived neighborhood ð1Þ
Level 2 ðschoolÞ: b0j ¼ c00 þ u0j
support (PNS) were also entered as student-level variables in
The life satisfaction score of the student i in school
1
In the school districts in which data collection took place, students j (Yij) was modeled as function of the mean life satisfaction
are by default expected to attend a public school within their so-called score for school j (b0j) plus a residual term reflecting
catchment area (‘‘neighborhood school’’). Catchment areas are individual student differences around the mean of school
geographical boundaries that define neighborhoods; the rationale for j (rij). The mean life satisfaction score for school j (b0j) was
students to register in a school in their catchment area is to ensure that
students are able to attend a school in their proximate living modeled as a function of the grand mean of life satisfaction
environment. If students wish to consider a school outside the in the sample (c00) plus a school-specific deviation from the
boundaries of their neighborhood catchment area, they need to grand mean (u0j). An overview of all parameter estimates
undergo an application process; their request to attend a school in a along with the results of the hypotheses tests for Models 1
different catchment area can only be met if the particular school the
student wishes to attend has the additional resources and space to and 2 can be found in Table 3. Analysis of the
accept a student from outside the catchment. unconditional model suggested statistically significant

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Table 2 Intercorrelation matrix and descriptives for all variables included in the analysis
Mean SD Range 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

1. Life satisfaction 3.82 .91 1–5 –

2. Optimism 3.65 .74 1–5 .65** –
3. Perceived parental support 3.47 .55 1–4 .41** .42** –
4. Positive peer relationships 4.19 .69 1–5 .36** .36** .33** –
5. School connectedness 3.56 .71 1–5 .42** .41** .30** .30** –
6. Perceived neighborhood support 2.76 .92 1–4 .28*** .23** .36** .29** .23** –
** p \ .01. *** p \ .001

Table 3 Parameter estimates for life satisfaction as a function of school context to which early adolescents belonged. Despite
student-level and school-level variables 5% being a fairly small percentage, researchers have argued
Model 1 Model 2 that analyses should be continued in the form of MLM,
because even a small amount of variability in Level 2 units
Fixed components can result in invalidated hypotheses tests and confidence
Intercept c00 3.81*** 3.80*** intervals when MLM is not used (see Kreft and de Leeuw
Perceived parental support c10 .19*** 1998). In addition, the design effect was computed as
Positive peer relationships c20 .12*** quantification for the effect of independence violations on
Optimism c30 .61*** standard error estimates, estimating the multiplier that needs
School connectedness c40 .19*** to be applied to the standard errors to correct for the negative
Perceived neighborhood c50 .05* bias that results from the nested data (Peugh 2010). The
support design effect, calculated based on the average amount of
School-average school c01 .43* students per school and the intraclass correlation coefficient
connectedness
in the unconditional model was 3.64 in this study. Is has been
School-average perceived c02 .60***
suggested that a design effect larger than 2.0 indicates the
neighborhood support
need for MLM (e.g., Muthén and Satorra 1989, 1995).
Variance of random
components Finally, previous research has shown that even small degrees
s00 .04* .009 of non-independence can lead to biased parameter estimates
r2 .80*** .44*** (e.g., Bliese 1998), and it was therefore appropriate to con-
Deviance (-2 LL) 3,645.38 2,803.79 tinue with a MLM approach in this study.

* p \ .05. ** p \ .01. *** p \ .001

Conditional Model With Level 1 and Level 2 Predictors
variability in life satisfaction scores within schools (Model 2)
(r2 = 0.80, Z = 26.06, p \ .001), as well as the between
schools (s00 = 0.04, Z = 2.52, p = .01). A conditional model was built adding perceived parental
The presence of heterogeneity at the individual- and support, positive peer relationships, optimism, school
school-level provided support for adding covariates at both connectedness, and perceived neighborhood support as
levels in subsequent analyses. The intraclass correlation student-level predictors, and average school connectedness
coefficient (Bickel 2007), computed as an indicator for the and average perceived neighborhood support as school-
proportion of variability that exists between Level 2 units, level predictors.

Level 1 ðindividualÞ: Yij ¼ b0j þ b1j ðPPSijÞ þ b2j ðPRijÞ þ b3j ðOPijÞ þ b4j ðSCijÞ þ b5j ðPNSijÞ þ ri
Level 2 ðschoolÞ: b0j ¼ c00 þ c01 ðAvgSCjÞ þ c02 ðAvgPNSjÞ þ u0j ð2Þ
b1j ¼ c10 b2j ¼ c20 b3j ¼ c30 b4j ¼ c40 b5j ¼ c50

s00/(s00 ? r2), was .048, indicating that almost 5% of the The purpose of this model was to estimate life satisfaction
variability in life satisfaction scores were due to the specific as a linear function of student i’s perceived parental

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support, positive peer relationships, optimism, school remained after adding average neighborhood and school
connectedness, and perceived neighborhood support in connectedness to the model.
school j, and the average school connectedness and the Last, comparing the deviance of the null model
average perceived neighborhood support of students in (-2LL = 3,645.38) to the deviance of the full model
school j. All three student-level variables of interest were (-2LL = 2,803.79), the addition of the two school-level
positive statistically significant predictors in the model, and five student-level variables resulted in a deviance
indicating the significant relation of perceived parental reduction of 842.04. As Model 2 and Model 1 differed by
support, c10 = .19, t(1,339.23) = 4.80, p \ .001, positive seven parameter estimates (c01, c02, c10, c20, c30, c40, c50)
peer relationships, c20 = .12, t(1,339.55) = 4.00, p \ the difference between these deviances is distributed as a
.001, and optimism, c30 = .61, t(1,339.66) = 20.85, chi-square with seven degrees of freedom: v2(7) = 842.04,
p \ .001, to life satisfaction in early adolescence. The p \ .001, indicating a significant reduction in deviance in
significant student-level life satisfaction slopes showed an Model 2 compared to Model 1.
increase in life satisfaction as perceived parental support,
positive peer relationships, and optimism increased. For
instance, a one-point increase in optimism was associated Discussion
with a .61 increase in life satisfaction.
Furthermore, above and beyond the significant and This investigation furthers our understanding of the
positive effect of individuals’ school connectedness, importance of life satisfaction as it relates to important
c40 = .18, t(1,339.33) = 6.11, p \ .001, and perceived ecological assets representing key contexts in which
neighborhood support, c50 = .05, t(1,339.25) = 2.33, p = development takes place during the early adolescent age-
.02, at the student-level, we found a significant effect of the period. Assessing life satisfaction in early adolescence is
variables averaged at the school level, entered as Level 2 critical for a number of reasons. For instance, the assess-
predictors in the model. Average school connectedness ment of life satisfaction can be used to monitor well-being
in a school was positively and significantly associated over time and assist in the evaluation of preventative
with students life satisfaction, c01 = .43, t(18.59) = 2.76, interventions aimed at fostering and promoting positive
p = .01, as was average perceived neighborhood support psychological adjustment in children and youth (Ben-Arieh
of students in a school, c02 = .60, t(19.70) = 5.44, p \ and Frones 2007). We believe that one of the most
.001. A one-point increase in average school connectedness important contributions of this study is the finding that
was associated with a .43 increase in life satisfaction, and a supportive and positive relationships with peers, non-rela-
one-point increase in average perceived neighborhood ted adults in the community, and a strong sense of school
support was associated with a .60 increase in life satis- belonging were significantly and positively related to life
faction. Note that when including the control variables satisfaction, a critical aspect of happiness in early adoles-
gender, grade, and ESL in the full model, the estimate for cence. These findings are important because they identify
average school connectedness decreased to .34, a margin- critical sources for fostering positive youth development
ally significant result (p = .055). outside the family, and are especially relevant when taking
Despite the addition of Level 1 predictors, there was still into consideration the large amount of time early adoles-
statistically significant variability in life satisfaction at cents spend with their peers, in school, and in their com-
the within-school-level (r2 = 0.44, Z = 25.88, p \ .001). munities. Furthermore, we consider the use of MLM a
However, computing a so-called Pseudo-R2 (e.g., Bickel methodological strength in this study because it allowed us
2007; Hayes 2006; Peugh and Enders 2005) by comparing to investigate both the variability in life satisfaction due to
Model 2’s within-school-variance in life satisfaction the individual as well as the school context to which
(r2 = 0.44) to the variance in the unconditional model individuals belong. In the following sections, we discuss
(r2 = 0.80) revealed that adding parental support, positive our findings in light of theory and research on satisfaction
peer relationships, optimism, perceived neighborhood with life and positive development in adolescence. We end
support, and school connectedness as student-level pre- the discussion with limitations of the current study and
dictors in Model 2 resulted in approximately 45% reduc- directions for future research.
tion of Level 1 variance. After entering the school-level Our initial analyses revealed that, in addition to the
predictors, there was no longer statistically significant significant individual variability in early adolescents’ life
variability in life satisfaction between schools (s00 = satisfaction, there was also significant variability due to the
0.009, Z = .162, ns). Furthermore, the intraclass correla- school contexts to which our participants belonged. This
tion coefficient in Model 2 was .02, suggesting that 2% finding is not surprising when taking into account that
variability in life satisfaction scores due to the specific students spend the majority of their day in the school
school context in which early adolescents were nested, environment, and that the nature of the school context as

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well as the relationships with teachers and students in In a larger scheme, our findings, indicating a link
school have been identified as critical factors in students’ between school and neighborhood context to early ado-
current and future development and well-being (Anderman lescents’ positive development, are consistent with
and Freeman 2004; Battistich 2005; Whitlock 2006). research demonstrating a shifting focus towards relation-
Although life satisfaction as a dimension of subjective ships outside the family, and thus the increasing impor-
well-being (Diener and Diener 2009) is an individual tance of teachers, peers, and members in the community in
phenomenon, Sarason (1997) urges researchers to under- emerging adolescents’ lives (Eccles and Roeser 2009).
stand satisfaction with life as embedded in the ecological Practically speaking, these findings are important because
context of life, such as the interpersonal, social-familial, they identify that relationships with adults in the commu-
and institutional contexts. nity and in important institutions such as schools can
Identifying that life satisfaction varies between schools provide critical support for thriving in early adolescence.
on average is important because it suggests a link between Especially for young adolescents who may have few assets
the larger school context—a setting that can be changed, and little support in their home, positive relationships in the
improved and optimized to meet students’ needs—and school, a school climate wherein students feel a strong
positive development in early adolescence. Knowing that sense of belonging, and a strong and positive sense of
school characteristics are related to individual students’ community in the neighborhood can become an important
well-being is a first step to stimulate further investigations source of support and care that enhances trust and other
examining specific factors such as relationships within this indicators of healthy social and emotional development.
context, that have the potential to promote and protect the Finally, we found that the assets representing perceived
well-being of students. Taking this finding into a practical parental support, positive peer relationships, and optimism
context, in addition to interventions and preventions tar- were positively and significantly related to early adoles-
geted at the individual level, efforts to enhance positive cents’ life satisfaction. Identifying a significant link
development and thriving in children and youth can also be between satisfaction with life and perceived parental sup-
targeted at the level of the context (i.e., school) in which port is in concert with previous research that has revealed a
individuals spend significant amounts of time (Lerner et al. significant connection between youth’ subjective well-
2010; Li et al. 2010). being and parental support or a positive relationship with
Based on the initial differences in life satisfaction due to parents (Gilman and Huebner 2003; Valois et al. 2009),
the school context, further analyses revealed that, as and illustrates the importance of caring, supporting families
hypothesized, average school connectedness and average in fostering social and emotional well-being. Similarly, the
perceived neighborhood support within the school’s finding that life satisfaction is significantly linked to posi-
neighborhood were significantly and positively related to tive peer relationships adds to an existing body of research
life satisfaction, and that the addition of those two variables that has connected peer relationships and indicators of
to the statistical model led to a significant decrease in life well-being in early adolescence. Specifically, a large
satisfaction variability at the school-level. This relationship number of studies has identified a significant link between
was maintained even after controlling for the effect of positive peer relationships and indicators of social and
school connectedness and perceived neighborhood support emotional well-being, such as optimism (Oberle et al.
at the individual level, and in addition to the significant 2010), happiness (Dougherty 2006), positive beliefs about
impact of relationships in the family context. In alignment the self (Rubin et al. 2006), and overall psychological well-
with previous theory and research on the importance of being (Nangle and Erdley 2001; Wentzel 2009). A positive
neighborhood and community support (Baumeister and relationship with peers thus has been identified as a key
Leary 1995; Knowlton 2008; Scales et al. 2001, 2006; influence on young people’s adjustment, psychological
Yonas et al. 2010), this finding confirms a key relationship health, and well-being (Vitaro et al. 2009). Given that
between caring and supportive adults in the neighborhood satisfaction with life is an indicator of subjective well-
and early adolescents’ satisfaction with life. Furthermore, being, our finding is in alignment with research in this
the significant relationship between a strong sense of domain.
school belonging and life satisfaction is in accordance with Despite the increasing research that has been conducted
previous findings indicating the positive impact of an on satisfaction with life throughout the middle childhood
overall positive school environment and school connect- and adolescence years (e.g., Proctor et al. 2009), we could
edness on children’s and adolescents’ well-being (e.g., not find any specific studies that have investigated the life
Shochet et al. 2006). Our findings suggest the significance satisfaction in relationship to optimism. However, given
of the school and the neighborhood as positive and caring that optimism is a construct in positive psychology
contexts, with individuals within these contexts experi- that reflects a generally positive attitude on life (e.g.,
encing a strong sense of belonging and support. Brodhagen and Wise 2008), our finding that optimism was

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significantly and positively related to life satisfaction is of captured all of the possible indicators that are assets in the
no surprise. Including personal trait assets when examining ecology of early adolescent development. For instance,
satisfaction with life is important, because positive youth other contexts that may influence early adolescents might
development and well-being needs to be understood from a include extracurricular activities, religious organizations,
holistic standpoint, including ecological assets, individual and sibling relationships. Third, because of the relatively
resources such as positive attitudes, as well as the rela- small Level 2 sample size for MLM, only a small number
tionship between individual and context (Theokas and of predictors could be tested in the model. Finally, because
Lerner 2006). Dispositional optimism as a personal asset of the cross-sectional nature of our study, the findings are
has previously been identified as an essential resource in correlational, and the results cannot be interpreted in any
positive adjustment that has been related to successful causal way. Taken together, clearly more research needs to
adjustment, especially in the context of stress and adversity be conducted to discern the complexity of the relationship
(Kumpfer 1999). Previous theory and research have indi- between subjective well-being and assets within early
cated that optimistic people view desired outcomes as adolescents’ ecological niches to ultimately reveal the
attainable and work towards the desired goal (Carver and factors that can enhance young peoples’ happiness and
Scheier 2001). We can therefore conclude that it is likely optimal functioning.
that optimistic people’s tendency to focus on and believe in
the positive side of life is also related to their tendency to Future Directions and Conclusions
be more satisfied with life.
Overall, our findings are consistent with Proctor et al.’s The burgeoning research on life satisfaction in childhood
(2009) assumption that positive social interactions in all and adolescence holds great potential for discerning a
core developmental contexts play a key role in youths’ deeper understanding of the role of subjective well-being in
satisfaction with life. The key is thus not to form positive development throughout the life-span. There are a number
relationships in a single social domain exclusively (e.g., of ways in which future studies can address the limitations
peer group), but to engage emerging adolescents in sup- of current and past research. Future research needs to be
portive relationships at home, school, in the community, conducted that includes objective measures of neighbor-
and in other important social settings in which young hood assets, such as social efficacy, social capital, and
people are a part (e.g., sports teams). Our results also social ties. Furthermore, future studies should include
support the assumption that we can best explain life sat- measures representing additional ecological contexts in
isfaction when including indicators from several impor- which early adolescents develop that were not addressed in
tant contexts of children’s and adolescents’ development this study, such as community settings involving after
(Gilman and Huebner 2003). The findings of this study school activities, sports, and volunteering. In addition to
have the potential to inform practices that promote positive indicators of well-being, more investigations need to be
youth development, such as prevention and intervention conducted on life satisfaction and indicators of personal
initiatives in schools and communities, because they distress (e.g., depressive symptoms). Life satisfaction also
identify important relationships that can be fostered and needs to be investigated for specific sub-groups of early
strengthened, and ultimately contribute to young adoles- adolescents in order to uncover whether the indicators for
cents’ social and emotional well-being. life satisfaction differ for early adolescents who are con-
sidered to be at risk, and whether there are specific ethnic
Limitations and cultural differences. The study of life satisfaction as it
relates to ecological context-variables in early adolescence
The data reported here are encouraging for continued also needs to be approached with a longitudinal design,
investigation of how personal and ecological assets relate allowing researchers to investigate fluctuations in life sat-
to life satisfaction in early adolescence. Nonetheless, isfaction throughout the early adolescent years, and pos-
despite these promising findings, there are several impor- sible increases and decreases in the importance of specific
tant limitations in our study that should be raised. First, we assets throughout development.
relied solely on the self-reports of our participants. Hence, Although a great deal still needs to be learned about how
future research should gather the perspectives of others, personal and ecological assets relate to social and emo-
including teachers, peers, and parents to further our tional well-being and thriving in early adolescence, the
understanding regarding the nature of ecological assets’ current research supports the notion that positive and
relationship to life satisfaction during the early adolescent supportive relationships with non-related adults in the
age-period. A second limitation is that we focused only on community coupled with a strong sense of belonging in
a portion of the ecological contexts in which early ado- school can be critical in determining life satisfaction or
lescents develop. We therefore cannot assume that we happiness. Indeed, what is clear is that early adolescents

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An analysis of perceptions among public middle school students. degree in Mathematical Psychology and Statistics from Carleton
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