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American High School Students’ Perceptions of Determinants of Life Satisfaction

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Abstract

Life satisfaction can be assessed either globally or with regard to satisfaction with specific domains of life. The latter multidimensional approach presumes science has delineated with confidence the specific domains most relevant to evaluating whether the criteria for a good life have been met. This paper shares results of a qualitative study of the perceived determinants of life satisfaction among 30 high school students who were diverse in terms of mental health; 6–10 participants were classified as complete mental health, vulnerable, symptomatic but content, or troubled at two time points separated by a year. Thematic analyses of transcribed individual interviews suggested eight themes that capture the domains of life adolescents perceive influence their happiness. These themes are compared and contrasted to domains included in existing multi-dimensional measures of youth life satisfaction. The factors likely to be particularly salient to students with different levels of mental health are noted.

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Acknowledgments

The authors of this manuscript would like to acknowledge the assistance of the following members of their university research team: Cheryl Gelley, Rachel Roth, Bryan Bander, Sim Yin Tan, Brittany Hearon, Kimberly Knap, Mollie McCullough, and Renee Ornduff.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological and Social Foundations, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, EDU 105, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    Shannon M. Suldo, Michael James Frank, Ashley M. Chappel, Melanie McMahan Albers & Lisa P. Bateman

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  1. Shannon M. Suldo
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  2. Michael James Frank
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  3. Ashley M. Chappel
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  4. Melanie McMahan Albers
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shannon M. Suldo.

Appendix: Interview Protocol

Appendix: Interview Protocol

  1. A.

    Introduction to interviewer, purpose of discussion, confidentiality, and overview of procedure

  2. B.

    Administer two items from the SLSS, and four items from the PANAS-C

I would like you complete these items which you may recognize from the surveys you completed for us the last two times you took part in our study.

  1. a.

    We would like to know what thoughts about life you’ve had during the past several weeks. Please rate on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree) these two items:

    1. i.

      My life is going well

    2. ii.

      My life is just right

  2. b.

    Please indicate to what extent you have felt these feelings and emotions during the past few weeks, using a scale of 1 (very slightly or not at all) to 5 (extremely):

    1. i.

      Happy

    2. ii.

      Gloomy

    3. iii.

      Joyful

    4. iv.

      Sad

  1. C.

    Interview for perceptions of what influences students’ happiness.

Thank you for thinking about your happiness. Now we’ll try to identify what about you, your behaviors, or your circumstances affect your happiness.

  1. 1.

    What are you considering when you judge how satisfied you are with your life?

    1. PROBE:

      What other types of things are most important in determining your overall happiness?

    2. PROBE:

      What else influences your level of satisfaction with your life?

  2. 2.

    You rated yourself a ___ on the scale of 1–6. What do you think would have to change in your life in order to move your rating up one whole point?

    1. PROBE:

      What else would you suggest would increase your happiness? Are there things that your parents, teachers, classmates or friends could do?

  3. 3.

    [Summarize responses] is that correct? Would you like to add something else that would help me better understand what influences your level of happiness with your life? For instance, perhaps how your spirituality or religion, or your pets, or your involvement in clubs or after-school activities, influences your happiness?

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Suldo, S.M., Frank, M.J., Chappel, A.M. et al. American High School Students’ Perceptions of Determinants of Life Satisfaction. Soc Indic Res 118, 485–514 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0436-2

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