Life satisfaction and school experience in adolescence: the impact of school supportiveness, peer belonging and the role of academic self-efficacy and victimization

Abstract

Several factors influence adolescents’ life satisfaction. At school, peer relatedness and school supportiveness, as well as individual self-perceptions such as academic self-efficacy, promote life satisfaction. Yet school is a context within which risks such as victimization can occur. The aim of this study was to test a model of relations of school factors predicting life satisfaction. We tested the mediator effects of victimization and academic self-efficacy between school supportiveness and peer belonging and life satisfaction. Participants were 2200 6th and 7th grades children attending middle school in Southern Switzerland. Data have been collected with the Middle Years Development Instrument questionnaire. Results showed that the sense of peer belonging and a supportive school environment have a positive effect on children academic self-efficacy and life satisfaction, and reduce the probability of victimization. Victimization, in turn, negatively affects life satisfaction and academic self-efficacy, while academic self-efficacy has a positive effect on life satisfaction.

Keywords:

• Life satisfaction
• school experiences
• adolescence

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Richard Kruk, Psychology, University of Manitoba, Canada

SUBJECTS:

• Educational Psychology
• Positive Psychology
• School Psychology

Introduction

Life satisfaction refers to “[…] a judgmental process, in which individuals assess the quality of their lives on the basis of their own unique set of criteria” (Pavot & Diener, 1993, p. 164).” According to the conceptualization of Diener (1984), life satisfaction is the cognitive component of subjective well-being, together with the two other components, i.e. positive and negative affect. It is highly associated with positive general self-evaluations such as self-esteem (Gadermann et al., 2015; Marcionetti & Rossier, 2019), self-concept (Cañas et al., 2020), and other factors of the Positive Youth Development (Lerner et al., 2009), such as optimism (Oberle et al., 2011), emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, and character strengths (McKnight et al., 2002), and negatively with depressive symptoms and anxiety (Gilman & Huebner, 2003).

Studying life satisfaction among adolescents and in relation to the school context is important for several reasons. First, as highlighted above, life satisfaction is a component of subjective well-being that predicts important outcomes, including well-being in adulthood and mental and physical health, as well as behavioral, relational, work, and socioeconomic outcomes (Cavioni et al., 2021; De Neve & Oswald, 2012; Kansky et al., 2016; Richards & Huppert, 2011). The second reason is that, already in the period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, studies had highlighted an overall decline in life satisfaction among adolescents, which the pandemic may also have exacerbated (Marquez & Long, 2021; Marquez et al., 2022). The third reason is that life satisfaction among adolescents has an important relationship with school life. Several studies have highlighted the school factors that have an influence on adolescents’ life satisfaction (Ford et al., 2021; Marquez & Main, 2020; Taylor et al., 2022). In fact, research has shown that several variables characterizing school experiences are related to life satisfaction in adolescence. For example, Schwarz et al. (2012), showed that the sense of being accepted by peers at school is a predictor of life satisfaction in adolescents, and variables such as school engagement and confidence in the classroom predict life satisfaction among students (Doğan & Çelik, 2014). More generally, a reciprocal influencing effect between school and life satisfaction has been proved (Gempp & González-Carrasco, 2021), proving the important relationship occurring between school experience and life satisfaction. At the same time, despite the increasing interest in studying factors associated with life satisfaction in adolescents, the amount of studies involving this population remains far from the volume of those conducted on adults (Ben-Arieh et al., 2017; Casas, 2011).

Specifically concerning the school experience, one of the factors that is mostly developed in school is academic self-efficacy (Schunk & Pajares, 2002). Academic self-efficacy refers to the belief of individuals in their ability to accomplish and succeed in school-related situations, which can be general or task-specific (Bandura, 1997, 2012). Academic self-efficacy predicts academic performance and adaptation to the school environment (Caprara et al., 2011; Doğan, 2015; Honicke & Broadbent, 2016; Llorca et al., 2017; Robbins et al., 2004; Richardson et al., 2012; Schunk et al., 2008; Usher & Pajares, 2008), given its effect on the motivation to activate personal and cognitive resources to engage in challenging tasks. Higher levels of academic self-efficacy are related to the setting of higher-level goals and personal aims and higher levels of academic engagement (Bassi et al., 2007; Salanova et al., 2005). Studies suggests that academic self-efficacy might be fostered by several factors of the school climate (Suldo et al., 2006; Suldo, Shaunessy, et al., 2008). In turn, given the positive effects on academic engagement and school performance, it is likely to also foster life satisfaction, as shown in the recent study by Kim and Park (2020). However, only few studies have tested this hypothesis.

Life satisfaction is also negatively influenced by the victimization experience (Gini et al., 2018; Savahl et al., 2018; Varela et al., 2018, 2019; Zych et al., 2018). Bullying is an aggressive behavior that systematically involves an abuse—physical, verbal or social—that is perpetrated by the same individuals with the intent to cause harm (Lester et al., 2012; Smith, 2004) under the circumstances of a power imbalance between the bully and the victim (Espelage & Swearer, 2011), with an average prevalence of 31% among adolescents across different countries (Biswas et al., 2020). Victims of bullying are more likely to be at risk to develop internalizing problems, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and psychosomatic symptoms (Gladstone et al., 2006; Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017), along with reduced school adjustment, behavioural problems, academic failure or poor performance, and social maladaptation in adulthood (Galand & Hospel, 2013; Haynie et al., 2001; Nakamoto & Schwartz, 2010; Mundy et al., 2017; Perren & Hornung, 2005). Some rare studies suggest that the influence of victimization on academic achievement might be mediated by academic self-efficacy (Thijs & Verkuyten, 2008), highlighting that victimized students perform worse in school because they consider themselves less effective. Hence, it is possible to hypothesize that the influence of victimization on life satisfaction is mediated, in part, by the influence that victimization has on academic self-efficacy.

Studies have shown that social factors of the school experience, such as relation with peers and a supportive school environment, are related to students’ life satisfaction and adjustment to school (e.g. Azpiazu Izaguirre et al., 2021; Suldo, Shaffer, et al., 2008). Peer relations relate positively with children and adolescents’ life at school, academic performances, and school satisfaction (Bordwine & Huebner, 2010; Castelli et al., 2018; Wentzel et al., 2004). Studies confirm that they are also positively associated to life satisfaction (Gempp & González-Carrasco, 2021; Newland et al., 2015; Oberle et al., 2011) and negatively to psychological health problems (Newman et al., 2007; Roach, 2018) in children and adolescents. The sense of belonging to a group of peers, i.e. the extent to which adolescents feel to be part and connected to a group of peers has been studied in relation to life satisfaction (Gadermann et al., 2015) and global self-efficacy (Gilman & Huebner, 2003) but less in relation to academic self-efficacy.

School climate is also a strong predictor of life satisfaction (Lázaro-Visa et al., 2019), victimization (Wang et al., 2014) and academic self-efficacy (Høigaard et al., 2015). Finally, school supportiveness, i.e. the presence of supportive relationships between teachers and students and between students (Oberle et al., 2018; Daily et al., 2019), is one factor of the community dimension of the school climate (Wang & Degol, 2015), that is associated with positive outcomes for students’ development and adaptation to school. The support perceived from teachers is also positively associated with students’ life satisfaction (Ben-Zur, 2003; Suldo & Huebner, 2006; Suldo et al., 2006) and academic self-efficacy (Alivernini & Lucidi, 2011). Moreover, having positive relations with supportive teachers increases student willingness to seek help for bullying and threats of violence (Eliot et al., 2010).

The above presented literature has highlighted the importance of life satisfaction for adolescents’ current and future lives: for both adults and adolescents, life satisfaction is a resource upon which future life can be planned and built (Bowman, 2010; DeNeve & Cooper, 1998; Luhmann & Hennecke, 2017; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2017; Proctor et al., 2009; Salmela-Aro & Tuominen-Soini, 2010). In addition, research demonstrated the close relationship between life satisfaction and adolescents’ school experience, and the contribution that characteristics of the school experience make in increasing or decreasing it. The research problem lies in the need to understand how these aspects of the school experience are related, and to what extent they influence students’ life satisfaction.

The current study

Although some of the relationships between academic self-efficacy, victimization experience, peer relatedness, school supportiveness, and life satisfaction were largely studied, there remained some under-explored relationships that we wanted to contribute to shedding light on. Hence, the main research questions were two. The first was “Is there a direct relationship of school supportiveness and peer belonging on victimization, academic self-efficacy and life satisfaction?”; the second was “Is there a mediation effect of victimization and academic self-efficacy in the relation between school supportiveness and life satisfaction and peer belonging and life satisfaction?”.

Hypothesis were formulated based on previous research. First, studies associate peer relations and a supportive school environment positively with academic self-efficacy (Alivernini & Lucidi, 2011) and students’ life satisfaction (Gempp & González-Carrasco, 2021; Newland et al., 2015; Oberle et al., 2011; Ben-Zur, 2003; Suldo & Huebner, 2006; Suldo et al., 2006; Gadermann et al., 2015), and negatively with victimization (Eliot et al., 2010). Hence, we hypothesized the sense of peer belonging and the perception of a supportive school environment to positively affect academic self-efficacy and life satisfaction, and negatively victimization. Second, previous research hasn’t largely explored the relationship between academic self-efficacy and life satisfaction. In light, in particular, of the recent study by Kim and Park (2020) we hypothesized a direct link between these variables in adolescents. Moreover, based on previous studies confirming a negative relationship between victimization experience and life satisfaction (Gini et al., 2018; Savahl et al., 2018; Varela et al., 2018, 2019; Zych et al., 2018), and suggesting a negative relation between victimization and academic self-efficacy (Thijs & Verkuyten, 2008), we also hypothesized academic self-efficacy as partially mediating the effect of victimization on life satisfaction. Therefore, a mediation effect of victimization and academic self-efficacy between school supportiveness and peer belonging respectively, and life satisfaction was hypothesized.

Although the above-mentioned factors have largely been investigated in terms of reciprocal relations and relations with other relevant factors related to the school environment and to students’ adaptation, there is a lack of studies where all these variables are investigated within the same model and where life satisfaction is predicted by school supportiveness and peer belonging and the mediator effects of victimization and academic self-efficacy are tested.

We have considered school supportiveness, peer belonging and academic self-efficacy as predictors of life satisfaction, because we have assumed that life satisfaction is a desirable outcome, even if reciprocal relations between all the variables under investigation are being taken into consideration. Studies (Lent et al., 2009) have tested a socio-cognitive model to predict academic and life satisfaction proposing the same order of variables. In addition, our aim was to understand the influence of variables that characterize the school experience, on which it is possible to intervene at the individual or group level or according to a whole school approach perspective.

Method

Participants and procedure

Participants were 2220 children of 6th and 7th grades, attending first and second year of middle school in the State of Cantone Ticino, Switzerland, which is the only State in Switzerland where Italian is the official language spoken by the majority of the population. Among them, 1065 were female (49.7%) and 1076 male (50.3%), while 79 didn’t report this information; 1207 (54.4%) attended 6th grade and 1013 (45.6%) 7th grade. Children’s mean age was 11.6 years (SD = 0.72), ranging from 10 to 15. The questionnaire was administered by trainee teachers during their internship period. As for the sampling procedure, we selected a convenient sample of classrooms according to the availability of internship positions for the trainee teachers. Sample size corresponded to approximately 30% of one-school-year average whole population of 6th and 7th grade students of Cantone Ticino public schools. Trainee teachers administered the questionnaire during class; a paper-pencil copy of the questionnaire was provided to each student, teachers read questions aloud and students filled-in their responses anonymously and individually.

Measures

We used the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) to collect data among 6th and 7th grades children attending first and second year of middle school. The MDI is a population-level measure that has been developed and validated in English language (Schonert-Reichl et al., 2013) and translated and validated in Italian language (Castelli et al., 2018) for measuring well-being among children and preadolescents. Along with a set of socio-demographic questions (gender, age, living situation, number of siblings, first language learned and spoken and difficulty reading in Italian language), the questionnaire contains 71 items assessing well-being among the following domains: social and emotional development, connectedness, school experiences, physical health and well-being, and constructive use of after school time. Each domain comprises several scales measuring different constructs among which there are victimization, peer belonging, school supportiveness, academic self-efficacy and life satisfaction.

Satisfaction with life

Satisfaction with life is part of the social and emotional development domain of the MDI and is measured with a 5-item scale that investigates the extent to which individuals are overall satisfied with their lives, on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “not at all” to “a lot.” Items are: “In most ways my life is close to the way I would want it to be,” “The things in my life are excellent,” “I am happy with my life,” “So far I have gotten the important things I want in life,” “If I could live my life over, I would have it the same way.”

Academic self-efficacy

Academic self-efficacy is part of the school supportiveness domain of the MDI and is measured with a 3-item scale investigating the extent to which children feel capable of achieving academic goals, on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “not at all” to “a lot.” Items are: “I am certain I can learn the skills taught in school this year,” “If I have enough time, I can do a good job on all my schoolwork,” “Even if the work in school is hard, I can learn it.”

Victimization

Victimization is part of the school experiences domain of the MDI and is measured with a 4-item scale investigating the frequency of physical, verbal, social and cyber victimization on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “never” to “every week.” Items are introduced by the following question: “This school year, how often have you been bullied by other students in the following ways?,” after which is specified which way of bullying the question refers to (physical, verbal, social, cyber).

Peer belonging

Peer belonging is part of the connectedness domain of the MDI and is measured with a 3-item scale investigating the intensity of feeling part of a group of peers on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “not at all” to “a lot.” Items are: “I feel part of a group of friends that do things together,” “I feel that I usually fit in with other kids around me,” “When I am with other kids my age, I feel I belong.”

School supportiveness

School supportiveness is part of the school experiences domain of the MDI and is measured with a 3-item scale investigating the extent to which a supportive school environment is present at school on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “not at all” to “a lot.” Items are: “Teachers and students treat each other with respect in this school,” “People care about each other in this school,” “Students in this school help each other even if they are not friends.”

Data analysis

The main aim of this study was to test a model of relations of school factors predicting students’ life satisfaction. Hence, we first computed means and standard deviations for each scale, and correlations between scales. Then, an independent-samples t-test was conducted to determine whether there were differences in the mean values of the variables included in the model between males and females. In order to test the adequateness of the measurement model, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed and different fit indexes were considered: the comparative fit index (CFI) and the Tucker–Lewis index (TLI), which indicate good fit when values are.90 or above (Medsker et al., 1994); the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) and the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) values, which are indicators of good fit when they are below.05, although RMSEA, and SRMR values of approximately.08 or less are also acceptable (Byrne, 2010). Then, a SEM was specified including all constructs under study as latent variables, using the scale items as observed variables. In order to assess model fit, we considered the following fit indices: the χ2 per degrees of freedom (χ²/df), which indicates a good fit when equal to or below 3 (Kline, 2005), the comparative fit index (CFI) and the Tucker–Lewis index (TLI), which indicate good fit when values are approximately.90 or above (Medsker et al., 1994) and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) value, which indicates a good fit when below.05 and acceptable when below.08 (Byrne, 2010). Specific indirect effects were calculated using the phantom model approach (Macho & Ledermann, 2011). The 95% confidence intervals were calculated using bootstrapping on 5000 samples. Finally, we tested for gender invariance using a multi-group CFA; assumption of invariance across models is tenable if ΔCFI < .01 and ΔRMSEA < .015 (Chen, 2007). As suggested by Byrne (2010), weak invariance permits comparisons of correlates, while two indicators with invariant loadings and intercepts (i.e. partial strong invariance) are sufficient for mean comparisons (Steenkamp & Baumgartner, 1998). A covariance matrix was computed and used to assess SEM models with AMOS software.

Results

Means, standard deviations, correlations and Chronbach’s alpha values for the victimization, peer belonging, school supportiveness, academic self-efficacy and life satisfaction scales are reported in Table 1. Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from.67 to.85, indicating good reliability of the scales used. All correlations were significant at p <. 001 and correlation coefficients ranged from r = .20 (negative correlation between victimization and school supportiveness) to r = .47 (positive correlation between life satisfaction and academic self-efficacy).

Table 1. Cronbach’s alpha, means and standard deviations statistics for study variables and correlations between them.

		α	Sample		Male		Female		1	2	3	4
			M	SD	M	SD	M	SD
1	Life satisfaction	.85	3.89	.90	3.90	.90	3.88	.91
2	Academic self-efficacy	.78	4.31	.67	4.28	.69	4.35	.64	.47***
3	Victimization	.74	1.60	.70	1.62	.72	1.58	.67	−.31***	−.18***
4	Peer belonging	.80	4.16	.88	4.22	.87	4.09	.89	.33***	.27***	−.28***
5	School supportiveness	.67	3.54	.84	3.47	.86	3.61	.83	.34***	.34***	−.20***	.28***

Note. α: Cronbach’s alpha; M: mean; SD: standard deviation.

*** p < .001.

Then, an independent-samples t-test was conducted to determine whether there were differences in the mean values of the variables included in the model between males and females. Results indicate significant differences for: academic self-efficacy mean values between males (M = 4.28, SD = .69) and female students (M = 4.35, SD = .64), [t(2131.306) = −2.605, p = .009]; peer belonging, for which the mean value is higher for male students (M = 4.22, SD = .87) than for females (M = 4.09, SD = .89), t(2139)=3.390, p < .001]; school supportiveness, for which the mean value is higher for female students (M = 3.61, SD = .83) than for males (M = 3.47, SD = .86), [t(2139) = −3.631, p < .001].

A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed. Indexes of fit for this model were χ² (125) = 440.926, p < .001, TLI = .97, CFI = .98, SRMR = .03, and RMSEA = .034, indicating good acceptability of the model fit.

A SEM model was then specified including life satisfaction, academic self-efficacy, victimization, peer belonging, and school supportiveness as latent variables. Items of each scale were used as observed variables. In the specified model, we hypothesized that life satisfaction is predicted by all other variables and school supportiveness and peer belonging correlate with each other, and both predict victimization (negatively), life satisfaction and academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, we hypothesized that victimization predicts academic self-efficacy and that both mediate the effect of school supportiveness and peer belonging on life satisfaction.

The model reached a good fit, showing χ² (125) = 440.926, p = .000, TLI = .971, CFI = .977, and RMSEA = .034. All the hypothesized relations were significant. The highest effects were those of academic self-efficacy on life satisfaction and of school supportiveness on academic self-efficacy. School supportiveness had also a moderate effect on life satisfaction and victimization. Victimization had a moderate and negative impact on life satisfaction, a small impact on academic self-efficacy, and was moderately and negatively influenced by the sense of peer belonging. The overall model explained 42% of life satisfaction variance, 24% of academic self-efficacy variance and 15% of victimization variance. Standardized factor loadings ranged from.47 to.80.

As shown in Table 2, analyses of specific indirect effects indicated that victimization mediated the effect of school supportiveness on life satisfaction and of peer belonging on life satisfaction, and that academic self-efficacy mediated the effect of school supportiveness on life satisfaction and of peer belonging on life satisfaction.

Table 2. Estimated effects of 95% bootstrapped confidence intervals for simple indirect effects of school supportiveness and peer belonging on life satisfaction.

Effect being tested	Value^a	95% Bias-corrected CI
		LL	UL
Indirect effect of SchoolSupp on LS through Vict	.045	.025	.070
Indirect effect of SchoolSupp on LS through AcadSE	.223	.178	.279
Indirect effect of PeerBel on LS through Vict	.058	.039	.082
Indirect effect of PeerBel on LS through AcadeSE	.069	.035	.106

Note. SchoolSupp: school supportiveness; LS: life satisfaction; Vitc: victimization; AcadSE: academic self-efficacy; PeerBel: peer belonging; CI: confidence interval; LL: lower limit; UL: upper limit.

^a Unstandardized estimate of the effect obtained with the maximum likelihood procedure.

In order to confirm the adequacy of the specified model on both male and female students, we used a multi-group SEM for testing gender invariance. As recommended by Chen (2007), assumption of invariance across models is tenable if ΔCFI < .01 and ΔRMSEA < .015. First, we analysed weak factorial invariance (all factor loadings constrained to be equal between the two groups), testing for differences across the weak and the configural models. Values obtained for the configural model (χ² (250) = 691.121, p = .000, TLI = .960, CFI = .967, and RMSEA = .029), were similar to those observed for the weak invariance model (χ² (263) = 744.055, p = .000, TLI = .958, CFI = .964, and RMSEA = .029), confirming the weak factor invariance (ΔCFI = .003 and ΔRMSEA = .000). Then, we tested a model with pathways constrained to be equal across the two groups, in order to investigate if there were any differences referable to pathways between latent variables. Values obtained (χ² (271) = 773.187, p = .000, TLI = .958, CFI = .963 and RMSEA = .029), compared to those of the weak invariance model, indicated that the model is appropriate for both female and male students (ΔCFI = .001, ΔRMSEA = .000).

Discussion

Previous research has demonstrated the importance of life satisfaction for its relation to psychological well-being, happiness and several psychological and social outcomes, both in adult life (Diener & Chan, 2011; Gilman & Huebner, 2003; Proctor et al., 2009) and during adolescence (Oberle et al., 2011). The main aim of this study was therefore to reach a deeper understanding of life satisfaction and its relation to some crucial aspects of adolescents’ school experience.

The model tested confirmed that all the hypothesized relations were significant. The highest effect was the one of academic self-efficacy on life satisfaction, confirming previous research findings (Kim & Park, 2020), and corroborating the hypothesis that adolescents that reach and maintain a good level of academic self-efficacy give a higher global evaluation to their own life. Furthermore, as hypothesized, academic self-efficacy showed a mediating effect on the relation between school supportiveness, peer belonging and life satisfaction, providing confirmation on the importance of fostering students’ academic self-efficacy. These findings support the importance of promoting students’ academic self-efficacy to improve their school experience and, consequently, their well-being, through specific, targeted programs.

A supportive school environment, in turn, showed a significant impact on academic self-efficacy and, moderately, on life satisfaction, while a negative influence of the sense of peer belonging on victimization has been shown by our results. These findings are consistent with previous research findings (Alivernini & Lucidi, 2011; Ben-Zur, 2003; Eliot et al., 2010; Gadermann et al., 2015; Gempp & González-Carrasco, 2021; Newland et al., 2015; Oberle et al., 2011; Suldo & Huebner, 2006; Suldo et al., 2006) and with our hypothesis that a sense of peer belonging and the perception of a supportive school environment would have a positive impact on academic self-efficacy and life satisfaction, and a negative impact on victimization, leading to the conclusion that enhancing the quality of relations at school could be crucial for improving individuals adjustment to school and life. As previously mentioned, victimization is a widespread problem in schools in many countries, affecting on average about 31% of adolescents (Biswas et al., 2020), and it is well known that victims of bullying are more likely at risk to develop school and social adjustment problems in the present and future life (Gladstone et al., 2006; Galand & Hospel, 2013; Haynie et al., 2001; Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017; Mundy et al., 2017; Nakamoto & Schwartz, 2010; Perren & Hornung, 2005). Having confirmation that we can intervene in aspects such as sense of peer belonging to reduce the risk of being bullied can be supportive to teachers, educators and directors who are responsible for protecting students and promoting their well-being. Results also showed that school supportiveness has a moderate effect on victimization, which, in turn, has a moderate and negative impact on life satisfaction and academic self-efficacy, confirming the mediation hypothesis we formulated based on previous research findings (Gini et al., 2018; Savahl et al., 2018; Varela et al., 2018, 2019; Zych et al., 2018, Thijs & Verkuyten, 2008). Thus, as hypothesized, being a victim of bullying has a negative impact on the overall judgement of one’s life, but, on the other hand, the perception of a supportive school environment and the sense of peer belonging reduces the probability of being bullied at school. These findings confirm the impact of contextual factors in the emergence of bullying and victimization (Lázaro-Visa et al., 2019; Pozzoli et al., 2012), particularly the quality of relationships at school (Lester et al., 2012; Salmivalli, 2010). They also confirm the impact that experiences of victimization can have on the quality of adolescents’ school life, and the importance of continuing efforts to challenge and prevent bullying and victimization. Finally, the analyses of gender invariance, showed that the model tested is suitable for both female and male students.

Limitations and future perspectives

As for the limitations of the present study, the first is that this is a cross-sectional study, and therefore does not allow us to confirm the causal relationship between the variables investigated, but only to formulate hypotheses based on the strength and significance of the relationships observed. Another limitation of the study concerns the potential sampling biases, given that data collection included only students that were attending school and that the sample was not randomly selected; instead, we selected a convenient sample of classrooms according to the availability of internship positions for the trainee teachers. Also, it should be taken into consideration that the study was conducted in a high-income European country, and the results might be different in other socio-cultural contexts; future research could examine the model in other countries.

Future research could aim at better understanding the impact of contextual variables of the school environment on students’ life satisfaction. To this aim, a more comprehensive theoretical model considering more aspects of the school context, such as the multidimensional construction of school climate (Wang & Degol, 2015) could be tested. Furthermore, given the increasing relevance of the Positive psychology approach (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) in studies and interventions to promote adolescents’ well-being at school (i.e. Tejada-Gallardo et al., 2020), a more comprehensive model could include other individual variables that are generally considered within the framework of positive psychology, such as hope, optimism or resilience. In order for the tested model to be used effectively in the school context, it would also be necessary to explore whether there are differences in relation to grades or age of the students: the age between 6th and 9th grade is characterized by strong differences linked to individual development, and the impact of environmental and individual variables can vary greatly depending on the developmental stage or grade in which the students are. School grade invariance should therefore be tested. Furthermore, while recent research has confirmed that school factors predict life satisfaction and mental health (Sahib et al., 2023), alternative hypotheses cannot be ruled out, which, for example, to consider life satisfaction as a predictor of other variables and not as an outcome variable. In fact, as mentioned earlier, several studies have shown that life satisfaction predicts important behavioural, social, and relational outcomes, as well as well-being and mental health in adult life (De Neve & Oswald, 2012; Kansky et al., 2016; Richards & Huppert, 2011). For example, as recently reported (Cavioni et al., 2021), several studies have shown in the past that life satisfaction is associated with higher levels of school adjustment, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and quality of relationships with peers (Proctor et al., 2009; Fergusson et al., 2015); furthermore, in the same study (Cavioni et al., 2021), the protective and mediating role of life satisfaction with respect to mental health was shown. Future studies could further investigate the relationships between life satisfaction and other school adjustment variables, hypothesizing a different role of life satisfaction.

Conclusions

The main objective of this study was to provide a deeper understanding of life satisfaction and its relation to some crucial aspects of adolescents’ school experience. Our aim was to shed light on the influence of environmental and individual variables on the quality of adolescents’ school experience, and to understand whether investing in the quality of school climate and relationships (school support and sense of belonging among peers), individual resources (academic self-efficacy) and anti-bullying could have an impact on adolescents’ overall assessment of their life satisfaction. Our study confirmed that school life (all variables considered) has an impact on individual life satisfaction, confirming the importance of continuing to invest in addressing issues such as bullying and increasing the quality of the school environment. Bullying and victimization are problems with which schools are constantly confronted, and for which communities always expect effective responses, in terms of prevention and intervention. In fact, even though school institutions strongly engage in anti-bullying prevention and intervention programs, their effectiveness could be further improved: a systematic meta-analysis conducted in 2019 over 100 bullying prevention programs across different countries (Gaffney et al., 2019), showed an impact of those programs of around 20% for bullying perpetration and 15% for victimization, and limited effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs was also highlighted in a meta-analysis study conducted in 2008 across six countries (Merrell et al., 2008). At the same time, we were able to confirm that victimization can be contained by intervening in the quality of relationships at school that also have a positive effect on academic self-efficacy, which in turn is an important individual resource for promoting higher life satisfaction among adolescents.

Figure 1. SEM model including life satisfaction, academic self-efficacy, victimization, peer belonging, and school supportiveness as latent variables.

Graphic representation of the structural equation model showing the direct influence of school supportiveness and peer belonging on life satisfaction, and their influence mediated by academic self-efficacy and victimization.

Acknowledgement

Authors would like to thank all the students who participated in the data collection; this study would not have been possible without them. We would also like to thank: the educational authorities of the Canton of Ticino and the directors of the schools, for the support provided; Professor Kimberly Schonert-Reichl and Dr. Martin Guhn for sharing and exchanging in the use of the MDI questionnaire; our colleagues for their collaboration during the research process; and our Department for the support provided. The SUPSI ethics committee states that the presented study meets national and international guidelines for research on humans and that the requirement for the informed consent is waived by the ethics committee. We also declare that there are no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests to report.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Luciana Castelli

Authors have been working at the Competence Centre for Innovation and Research on Education Systems (CIRSE) of the Department of Education and Learning (DFA) of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) for more than 10 years. Their research interests focus on wellbeing in education systems and the factors that enhance it. The study here presented is part of a project conducted for several years on preadolescents wellbeing in middle schools. The general aim of the project was to measure different variables associated with wellbeing in pre-adolescents and, in collaboration with trainee teachers, to promote pedagogical strategies to improve wellbeing in the classroom at an individual and group level.