Changes with Age in Subjective Well-Being Through the Adolescent Years: Differences by Gender

Abstract

A one-year follow up study was conducted on a sample of 940 Spanish adolescents aged mostly from 10 to 15 in order to explore the extent to which their subjective well-being (SWB) changes from one year to the next, and whether these changes are the same for both genders regardless of the instrument used to measure SWB. Participants responded to the same four SWB scales twice, with an interval of a year in between. A decrease in the levels of SWB is identified from the years 11–12 onwards, the decrease in girls being more marked. Multiple-item, domain-based scales (Brief Multidimensional Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale and Personal Well-Being Index) are more sensitive than single-item scales (Overall Life Satisfaction and Happiness Taking into Account Overall Life) in detecting this decrease. Implications for the study of SWB are discussed from a developmental perspective.