The Role of Hope, Spirituality and Religious Practice in Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction: Longitudinal Findings

Abstract

This longitudinal study presents the first examination of the relation between hope, spirituality, religious practice and life satisfaction of students in Portugal. A sample of 227 adolescents aged 15–19 completed the Portuguese versions of the Children Hope Scale, Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale and a single item for each spirituality and religious practice variable. The results from the cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses suggest that hope and spirituality, but not religious practice, were strongly linked to adolescents’ life satisfaction. Hope significantly predicted life satisfaction at a single time point, 6-months and 1-year later, and spirituality scores added significant variance beyond hope scores. All the variables demonstrate moderate to high stability across 6-months and 1-year time frame; no significant changes were found between the variables across the administrations. These results parallel recent studies of adult and child life satisfaction and suggest strategies to promote life satisfaction in adolescents.