INTRODUCTION While several studies have documented a declining-with-age trend in life satisfaction in adolescence, cross-national and nationally representative longitudinal evidence is needed to establish the normative trajectory of life satisfaction during this critical developmental period. METHODS The Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study of 10-16-year-olds included the Cantril Ladder life satisfaction measure in surveys of 43 countries between 2001 and 2014 (N = 752,620, 51% females). The UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) was used to assess within-person changes in life satisfaction from age 10 to 15 years among young people sampled between 2009 and 2018 (N = 8952, Obs. = 30,278). RESULTS Life satisfaction decreased by 0.61 SDs on average from ages 10 to 16 in the HBSC sample. A statistically significant decreasing-with-age trend was observed in each of the 43 countries examined. Females experienced a more pronounced decline in life satisfaction than males (0.75 SD vs. 0.46) on average, and a significantly larger decrease in life satisfaction among females was identified in 38 of 43 countries examined. Longitudinal analysis of adolescents from the UKHLS sample replicated this pattern: life satisfaction declined significantly by 0.5 SD between the ages of 10 and 15 and this decline was found to be steeper for females (0.76 SD) than for males (0.23SD). CONCLUSIONS The study findings enhance our understanding of the lifespan dynamics of life satisfaction and point to a potential universal decline in life satisfaction in adolescence. Understanding the developmental processes underlying this phenomenon will now be crucial.

中文翻译：

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青少年生活满意度迅速下降的跨国和纵向证据。

引言 虽然几项研究记录了青春期生活满意度随年龄增长的下降趋势，但需要跨国和全国代表性纵向证据来确定这一关键发展时期生活满意度的规范轨迹。方法 2001 年至 2014 年间对 43 个国家（N = 752,620，51% 女性）进行的调查中，对 10-16 岁儿童的健康行为 (HBSC) 研究包括 Cantril Ladder 生活满意度测量。英国家庭纵向研究 (UKHLS) 用于评估 2009 年至 2018 年间抽样的年轻人在 10 至 15 岁期间生活满意度的个人变化（N = 8952，Obs. = 30,278）。结果 在 HBSC 样本中，从 10 岁到 16 岁，生活满意度平均下降了 0.61 个标准差。在所检查的 43 个国家中，每个国家都观察到了具有统计学意义的随年龄增长而下降的趋势。平均而言，女性的生活满意度下降比男性更显着（0.75 SD vs. 0.46），在接受调查的 43 个国家中，有 38 个国家的女性生活满意度下降幅度更大。对来自 UKHLS 样本的青少年的纵向分析复制了这种模式：在 10 至 15 岁之间，生活满意度显着下降了 0.5 SD，并且发现女性 (0.76 SD) 的下降幅度比男性 (0.23 SD) 的下降幅度更大。结论 研究结果增强了我们对生活满意度的生命周期动态的理解，并指出青春期生活满意度可能普遍下降。了解这一现象背后的发展过程现在至关重要。