The path to life satisfaction in adolescence: life orientations, prioritizing, and meaning in life

Adolescence is a crucial developmental period when individuals establish their values, long-term aspirations, and direction in life, which together lay the groundwork for their healthy development. Recent research shows that having a sense of meaning in life and maintaining a positive perspective can be vital protective factors during this phase, facilitating coping and promoting overall well-being. The present study aims to build on previous research to further understand the interplay between possible mechanisms which underlie adolescents’ sense of well-being, employing a mixed-method approach, based on a self-report cross-sectional design. 244 adolescents completed surveys on hedonic and eudaemonic orientation, life satisfaction, and prioritizing meaning, as well as open-ended questions related to their experience of meaning in life. The findings suggest that life satisfaction is strongly associated with positive affect, negative affect, prioritizing meaning, and optimism. Thematic analysis reveals themes related to the quantitative data collected: adolescents who mentioned that freedom at school or home could foster a greater sense of meaning scored significantly higher in positive affect and life satisfaction. In addition, a mediational model reveals that eudaimonia, prioritizing, positive affect, negative affect, and optimism are directly related to life satisfaction, while positive affect, negative affect, and optimism mediated between prioritizing meaning and life satisfaction.