A Developmental Model of Early Childhood Intra- and Interpersonal Contributions to Adolescent Life Satisfaction
Open AccessWhile life satisfaction has been extensively studied in adults, research examining its emergence from a developmental perspective is scarce. Adolescence may be a period of particular developmental importance as previous research indicates that life satisfaction decreases during this life stage (Casas & González-Carrasco, 2019; Chang et al., 2003; Simmons et al., 1973; Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986). The current study examined a developmental model that explains how intrapersonal (predispositions and temperament) and interpersonal assets (parenting behaviors) in preceding life stages predict life satisfaction in adolescence through their direct and mediated effects, and interactions (moderated effects). Participants were 561 adopted children placed at birth, their birth mother and adoptive parents, who were part of a larger sample of birth and adoptive families that participated in the Early Growth & Growth Development Study (EGDS), a national prospective study of birth and adoptive family cohorts. Birth mother temperament was collected via self-report measures when children were approximately 18 months old. Adoptive parents reported on child temperament when children were ~6 years of age, and self-reported parenting behavior data when children were ~7.5 years of age. Adolescents reported on their own life satisfaction at ~11 years of age for cohort II and ~15 years of age for cohort I. Analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling while accounting for missing data using full information maximum likelihood estimation. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the direct and indirect effects of children’s intrapersonal and interpersonal assets on adolescent life satisfaction. Contrary to expectations, childhood effortful control was negatively associated with adolescent life satisfaction (β=-.38, p<.01). Exploratory analyses further suggest that this association is slightly stronger during early (Cohort II) vs. late adolescence (Cohort I). In addition, effortful control was indirectly associated with life satisfaction via positive parenting (indirect effect β=.13, p<.01). There was also a small indirect effect of negative affectivity on life satisfaction via positive parenting (indirect effect= β=-.05, p=.054). Last, analyses did not detect significant associations between the birth mothers’ personality characteristics and children’s temperament or life satisfaction. Collectively, these findings suggest that childhood effortful control forecasts adolescent life satisfaction in two ways. Those children with the highest levels of effortful control may experience lower levels of life satisfaction, especially during early adolescence. However, higher levels of effortful control may also elicit more positive parenting, which, in turn, predicts higher levels of effortful control. These contradictory pathways may reflect the social, emotional and physical upheavals that occur during adolescence, which may challenge those who have high expectations for self-regulation, but positive parenting may partially suppress these effects. Keywords: life satisfaction, parenting, temperament, effortful control, negative affectivity, adolescent, early childhood, rGE
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