Subjective well being of adolescents in boarding schools under threat of war

Abstract

How is subjective well being (SWB) of adolescents in boarding schools affected by threatened war, and related to perceived social support, self-control skills, and self-efficacy beliefs? Five hundred sixty-seven adolescents in five Israeli boarding schools completed questionnaires before the 2003 Iraq war. As expected, participants' fear of war affected SWB, and adolescents with high social support and self-control reported better SWB than low-scoring counterparts. Unexpectedly, self-efficacy regarding effective coping with upcoming war was unrelated to SWB. However, self-efficacy moderated links between social support and two SWB components (positive affect, life satisfaction). High-efficacy participants showed positive support-SWB correlations, whereas low-efficacy participants showed none. Findings highlighted personal resources as maintaining adolescents' SWB in boarding schools even under extreme stress.