Evaluation of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale in a Diverse Sample of Rural Early Adolescents

Although life satisfaction has been associated with maladjustment and adverse experiences among adolescents, few validated measures of life satisfaction have been evaluated for use with diverse populations. The Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) is a promising measure that has been validated in samples of White and Black adolescents. This study used an item response theory approach to evaluate its psychometric properties in a diverse rural sample of early adolescents and its concurrent associations with other measures of youth adjustment. Support was found for partial invariance across sex and racial and ethnic identities. Scores on the BMSLSS were also correlated with measures of youth adjustment. However, the strength of these correlations differed for adolescents of different racial and ethnic identities. Findings suggest that the BMSLSS is a psychometrically sound measure for assessing life satisfaction in diverse samples of adolescents and highlights the importance of assessing invariance across racial and ethnic groups.

How do Adolescents’ Perceptions of Relationships with Teachers Change during Upper-Secondary School Years?

The student-teacher relationship has mostly been assumed to be static. This approach is limited in providing information on how relationships with teachers evolve over time, and how possible changes affect young people’s adjustment. To address this gap in knowledge, the present study examined whether adolescents follow different trajectories in their perceptions of relationship with teachers and whether students on different trajectories differ from each other in their adjustment. The sample included 829 students residing in Sweden (Mage = 13.43, SD = 0.55, 51% girls). Three distinct teacher-relationship trajectories were identified. More than half (66%) of the adolescents (average-stable trajectory) reported an average level of positive relationships with teachers at grade 7, and did not change significantly over the three years. About 24% of the adolescents (high-increasing trajectory) reported a high level of fair and supportive teacher-relationships at T1, and continued to increase in their positive views from grade 7 to grade 9. Ten percent of the adolescents (average-declining trajectory) reported an average level of positive relationships with teachers at grade 7, but showed a decline in their positive views towards teachers over time. Relative to adolescents on an average-stable trajectory, adolescents on a high-increasing trajectory reported greater school satisfaction, higher achievement values, and lower failure anticipation. By contrast, adolescents in the average-declining group reported worsening school adjustment. No significant moderating effects of immigrant status and gender were found. These findings highlight the importance of the association between the continuous experience of supportive and fair teacher treatment and youth adjustment.