Family socioeconomic status and provincial‐level economic, educational, and health‐related factors as predictors of present‐ and future‐oriented subjective wellbeing in junior high school students in China

Abstract

Introduction: Previous studies have examined family socioeconomic status (SES) and regional-level factors that predict adolescents' present subjective wellbeing (SWB). However, as adolescents' SWB tends to be future-oriented, this study examined the relationships between family SES and provincial-level economic, educational, and health-related factors and adolescents' present-and future-oriented SWB. Methods: The sample includes 17,341 12-to 17-year-old adolescents (M age = 13.86; SD age = 0.79; 9056 girls and 8285 boys) from 31 different provinces of China. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze the data at two levels. Results: The findings showed that family SES (Level-1) was positively correlated with present life satisfaction (LS-P), present positive affect (PPA), hopeful future expectations (HFE), and positive affect toward future life (FPA), but negatively correlated with present negative affect (PNA) and negative affect toward future life (FNA). Provincial-level (Level-2) years of education per capita, average life expectancy, and human development index (HDI) were positively associated with LS-P, PPA, FPA, and HFE, and negatively associated with PNA; only average life expectancy was negatively associated with FNA. There was no association between gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and SWB. Simple slope analyses demonstrated that, in provinces with relatively less or short years of education per capita, GDP per capita, average life expectancy, or HDI, the correlations between family SES and present-and future-oriented negative affect were stronger. Conclusions: The present-and future-oriented SWB of adolescents from families with low SES in underdeveloped areas was relatively poor. More psychologically focused education activities are needed for these adolescents.

Teachers Matter More Than Sites and Facilities: Provincial-Level Educational Predictors of Adolescent Life Satisfaction

“… 19 Wu et al found that per capita years of education at the provincial level could positively predict the life satisfaction of middle school students in China. 7 However, another study found that the percentage of education expenditure in regional GDP did not significantly predict adolescent life satisfaction, 11 which may be due to this indicator not being representative of the actual educational resources adolescents obtained. To the best of our knowledge, no other educational factors at the regional level have been examined to determine their potential predictive effect on adolescents’ life satisfaction.…”

“… 6 Moreover, Wu et al found significant differences in the life satisfaction of junior high school students across China’s 31 provinces. 7 However, why life satisfaction among adolescents differs across regions has remained unclear.…”

“… 5–7 , 11–13 One explanation of this may be that economic growth increases work stress for adults, 14 leading to role overload for parents and increased parental conflict with adolescents, thereby damaging adolescent life satisfaction and counteracting the positive effect of economic development on adolescent life satisfaction. 7 In this study, we mainly adopted the hypothesis that outer systems (the exosystem and macrosystem), particularly the macrosystem could predict adolescent development. Moreover, as the predictive effects of microsystems and mesosystems on adolescent life satisfaction has been extensively examined, 15–18 they were not included in this study.…”

“…For instance, the findings from such research could help indicate whether introducing teachers and increasing educational funding is necessary in certain regions. Therefore, building on previous studies, 7 , 20 this research aimed to examine the predictive effect of regional-level educational indicators on the life satisfaction of junior high school students. Specifically, these indicators included per student general public budget education funds (per student education funds), student–teacher ratio, student–master degree teacher ratios, multimedia classroom class size, per capita classroom area, laboratory area, computer room area, language lab area, gymnasium area, green space area, sports field area, quantity of books, computer units, and value of equipment and instruments.…”

Assessment of Factors Associated With Mental Well-Being Among Chinese Youths at Individual, School, and Province Levels

“…21 In addition to school-level factors, regional factors, such as Human Development Index (HDI) scores, have been found to be associated with subjective well-being among youths. 22 According to the livability theory, 23 people in a developed region may benefit from better economic prosperity and educational opportunities, which may be associated with improved mental well-being. 3 Some researchers have found that people in a more-developed society show a better mean level of mental well-being.…”