Factors related to well-being in Irish adolescents

294 Irish adolescents were profiled after being classified as having high, moderate or low
subjective well
-
being on the basis of
their scores on the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the
Satisfaction With Life Scale and the General Hea
lth Questionnaire
–
12. Compared with the
low well
-
being group, the high well
-
being group reported fewer family and personal
stressful life events, more task
-
focused and less emotion
-
focused coping. They had
greater personal strengths (adaptive problem
-
solv
ing, self
-
esteem, and optimistic
attributional style) and greater social resources (perceived social support and adaptive
family functioning). The profile of the moderate well
-
being group fell between that of the
high and low well
-
being groups. Gender di
fferences favouring girls were found for
optimism, perceived social support and family functioning. A structural equation model
which explained the relationship among the variables in these profiles was developed in
which
increased personal strengths were
associated with better subjective well
-
being and
fewer stressful life events; and increased social resources were associated with better
task
-
focused coping.