Gender Differences in Happiness and Life Satisfaction Among Adolescents in Hong Kong: Relationships and Self-Concept

Social Indicators Research

Volumn 125, Issue 3, 2016, Pages 1035-1051

  Chui, Wing Hong ^a   Wong, Mathew Y H ^b  

^a CITY UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG   (Hong Kong)

^b UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG   (Hong Kong)

Author keywords

Adolescents; Gender; Happiness; Life satisfaction; Purpose in life; Self esteem

Indexed keywords

ADOLESCENCE; GENDER RELATIONS; LIVING STANDARD; QUALITY OF LIFE; SELF ASSESSMENT;

CHINA; HONG KONG;

EID: 84958636891     PISSN: 03038300     EISSN: 15730921     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s11205-015-0867-z     Document Type: Article

References (65)

1. Baumeister, R. F., Campbell, J. D., Krueger, J. I., & Vohs, K. D. (2003). Does high self-esteem cause better performance, interpersonal success, happiness, or healthier lifestyles? Psychological Science in the Public Interest,4(1), 1–44.
2. Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2009). The pursuit of meaningfulness in life. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 608–618). New York: Oxford University Press.
3. Brody, L. R., & Hall, J. A. (2008). Gender and emotion in context. In M. Lewis, J. M. Haviland-Jones, & L. F. Barrett (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (3rd ed., pp. 395–408). New York: Guilford.
4. Bronk, K. C., Hill, P. L., Lapsley, D. K., Talib, T. L., & Finch, H. (2009). Purpose, hope, and life satisfaction in three age groups. Journal of Positive Psychology,4(6), 500–510.
5. Buchmann, C., & DiPrete, T. A. (2006). The growing female advantage in college completion: The role of family background and academic achievement. American Sociological Review,71, 515–541.
6. Bui, H. N. (2009). Parent–child conflicts, school troubles, and differences in delinquency across immigration generations. Crime & Delinquency,55, 412–441.
7. Casas, F., Figuer, C., Gonzalez, M., Malo, S., Alsinet, C., & Subarroca, S. (2007). The well-being of 12- to 16-year old adolescents and their parents: Results from 1999 to 2003 Spanish samples. Social Indicators Research,83, 87–115.
8. Census and Statistics Department. (2012). 2011 Population Census. Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department.
9. Chang, L., Mcbride-Chang, C., Stewart, S. M., & Au, E. (2003). Life satisfaction, self-concept, and family relations in Chinese adolescents and children. International Journal of Behavioral Development,27(2), 182–189.
10. Cheng, H., & Furnham, J. (2003). Personality, self-esteem, and demographic predictions of happiness and depression. Personality and Individual Differences,34(6), 921–942.
11. Chui, W. H., & Chan, H. C. O. (2013). Psychological characteristics of male 14- to 20-year-olds on probation and in a residential home in Hong Kong. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health,23, 41–55.
12. Crumbaugh, J. (1968). Cross-validation of a purpose-in-life test based on Frankl’s concepts. Journal of Individual Psychology,24, 74–81.
13. Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Hunter, J. (2003). Happiness in everyday life: The uses of experience sampling. Journal of Happiness Studies,4, 185–199.
14. Cummins, R. A. (2013). Measuring happiness and subjective well-being. In S. David, I. Boniwell, & A. Conley Ayers (Eds.), Oxford handbook of happiness (pp. 185–200). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
15. Diener, E., & Clifton, D. (2002). Life satisfaction and religiosity in broad probability samples. Psychological Inquiry,13, 206–209.
16. Diener, E., & Diener, M. (1995). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,68, 653–663.
17. Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment,49, 71–75.
18. Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Lucas, R. E. (2009). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and life satisfaction. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 187–194). New York: Oxford University Press.
19. Diener, E., Scollon, C. N., & Lucas, R. E. (2004). The evolving concept of subjective well-being: The multifaceted nature of happiness. In P. T. Costa & I. C. Siegler (Eds.), Recent advances in psychology and aging (pp. 188–219). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
20. Diener, E., Scollon, C. N., Oishi, S., Dzokoto, V., & Suh, E. (2000). Positivity and the construction of life satisfaction judgments: Global happiness is not the sum of its parts. Journal of Happiness Studies,1, 159–176.
21. Diener, E., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Very happy people. Psychological Science,13, 80–83.
22. Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin,125, 276–302.
23. Eckermann, L. (2000). Gendering indicators of health and well-being: Is quality of life gender neutral? Social Indicators Research,52(1), 29–54.
24. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.
25. Feliciano, C. (2012). The female educational advantage among adolescent children of immigrants. Youth and Society,44(3), 431–449.
26. Feliciano, C., & Rumbaut, R. G. (2005). Gendered paths: Educational and occupational expectations and outcomes among adult children of immigrants. Ethnic and Racial Studies,28, 1087–1118.
27. Froh, J. J., Yurkewicz, C., & Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Gratitude and subjective well-being in early adolescence: Examining gender differences. Journal of Adolescence,32, 633–650.
28. Goldbeck, L., Schmitz, T. G., Besier, T., Herschbach, P., & Henrich, G. (2007). Life satisfaction decreases during adolescence. Quality of Life Research,16, 969–979.
29. Gonzalez, M., Figuer, C., Malo, S., & Casas, F. (2014). Personal well-being and interpersonal communication of 12–16 year-old girls and their own mothers: Gender and intergenerational issues. In E. Eckermann (Ed.), Gender, lifespan, and quality of life (pp. 7–24). Netherlands: Springer.
30. Hartup, W. W. (1983). The peer system. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Carmichael’s manual of child psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 275–386)., Socialization, personality, and social development New York: Wiley.
31. Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2002). The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire: A compact scale for the measurement of psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences,33, 1073–1082.
32. Holder, M. D., Coleman, B., & Wallace, J. M. (2010). Spirituality, religiousness, and happiness in children aged 8–12 years. Journal of Happiness Studies,11, 131–150.
33. Hsieh, M.-J. (2012). The relationships among high performance human resource practices, employee’s well-being, attitudes, and behaviors (Unpublished Master's Thesis). Kaohsiung, Taiwan: Institute of Human Resource Management, National Sun Yat-sen University. (In Chinese)
34. Huebner, E. S., Suldo, S., Valois, R. F., Drane, J. W., & Zullig, K. (2004). Brief multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale: Sex, race, and grade effects for a high school sample. Psychological Reports,94, 351–356.
35. Kashdan, T. B. (2004). The assessment of subjective well-being (issues raised by the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire). Personality and Individual Differences,36, 1225–1232.
36. Kitayama, S., & Markus, H. R. (2000). The pursuit of happiness and the realization of sympathy: Cultural patterns of self, social relations, and well-being. In E. Diener & E. Suh (Eds.), Subjective well-being across cultures (pp. 113–161). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
37. Ku, H.-B., Chan, K.-W., Chan, W.-L., & Lee, W.-Y. (2003) A research report on the life experiences of Pakistanis in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Centre for Policy Studies, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and S.K.H. Lady MacLehose Centre.
38. Ku, H.-B., Chan, K.-W., & Sandhu, K. K. (2005). A research report in the education of South Asian ethnic minority groups in Hong Kong. Research Report Series No. 11, Centre for Social Policy Studies, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Unison Hong Kong.
39. Kwan, Y. K. (2010). Life satisfaction and self-assessed health among adolescents in Hong Kong. Journal of Happiness Studies,11, 383–393.
40. Kwan, V. S. Y., Bond, M. H., & Singelis, T. M. (1997). Pancultural explanations for life satisfaction: Adding relationship harmony to self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,73(5), 1038–1051.
41. Kwok, Y. Y., Chui, W. H., & Wong, L. P. (2013). Need satisfaction mechanism linking volunteer motivation and life satisfaction: A mediation study of volunteers subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research,114, 1315–1329.
42. Leary, M. R., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). The nature and function of self-esteem: Sociometer theory. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 32, pp. 1–62). San Diego: Academic Press.
43. Leung, J. P., & Leung, K. (1992). Life satisfaction, self-concept and relationship with parents in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence,18, 345–359.
44. Leung, J. P., & Zhang, L.-W. (2000). Modelling life satisfaction of Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. International Journal of Behavioral Development,24(1), 99–104.
45. Lopez, N. (2003). Hopeful girls, troubled boys: Race and gender disparity in urban education. New York: Routledge.
46. Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin,131(6), 803–855.
47. McAdams, D. P. (1996). Personality, modernity, and the storied self: A contemporary framework for studying persons. Psychological Inquiry,7, 295–321.
48. McKnight, P. E., & Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Purpose in life as a system that creates and sustains health and well-being: An integrative, testable theory. Review of General Psychology,13(3), 242–251.
49. Moksnes, U. K., & Espnes, G. A. (2013). Self-esteem and life satisfaction in adolescents—gender and age as potential moderators. Quality of Life Research,22, 2921–2928.
50. Oishi, S., Diener, E., Suh, E., & Lucas, R. E. (1999). Value as a moderator in subjective well-being. Journal of Personality,67, 157–184.
51. Phillips, D. (2006). Quality of life: Concept, policy and practice. New York: Routledge.
52. Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
53. Shek, D. T. L. (1988). Reliability and factorial structure of the Chinese version of the Purpose in Life Questionnaire. Journal of Clinical Psychology,44(3), 384–392.
54. Shek, D. T. L. (1993). The Chinese purpose-in-life test and psychological well-being in Chinese college students. International Forum for Logotherapy,16(1), 35–42.
55. Shek, D. T. L. (1997). The relation of family functioning to adolescent psychological well-being, school adjustment, and problem behavior. Journal of Genetic Psychology,158, 467–479.
56. Shek, D. T. L. (1998). A longitudinal study of the relations between parent–adolescent conflict and adolescent psychological well-being. Journal of Genetic Psychology,159, 53–67.
57. Shek, D. T. L., Lee, B. M., Lee, T. Y., & Lam, C. M. (2006). Frequency, satisfaction and quality dimensions of perceived parent–adolescent communication among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health,18(2), 259–270.
58. Sun, R. C. F., & Shek, D. T. L. (2010). Life satisfaction, positive youth development, and problem behaviour among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Social Indicators Research,95(3), 455–474.
59. Thayer, R. E., Newman, R., & McClain, T. M. (1994). Self-regulation of mood: Strategies for changing a bad mood, raising energy, and reducing tension. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,67, 910–925.
60. Tkach, C., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2006). How do people pursue happiness? Relating personality, happiness-increasing strategies, and well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies,7, 183–225.
61. Vitterso, J. (2013). Functional wellbeing: Happiness as feelings, evaluations, and functioning. In S. David, I. Boniwell, & A. Conley Ayers (Eds.), Oxford handbook of happiness (pp. 227–244). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
62. Watkins, A., & Melde, C. (2010). Latino and Asian students’ perceptions of the quality of their educators: The role of generational status and language proficiency. Youth and Society,42(1), 3–32.
63. Wei, M., Liao, K. Y.-H., Ku, T.-Y., & Shaffer, P. A. (2011). Attachment, self-compassion, empathy, and subjective well-being among college students and community adults. Journal of Personality,79(1), 191–221.
64. Wnuk, M., Marcinkowski, J. T., & Fobair, P. (2012). The relationship of purpose in life and hope in shaping happiness among patients with cancer in Poland. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology,30(4), 461–483.
65. Xiao, J. J., Tang, C., & Shim, S. (2009). Acting for happiness: Financial behavior and life satisfaction of college students. Social Indicators Research,92, 53–68.