A sex-stratified multiple regression on Jordanian adolescents’ life satisfaction using different elements of school climate

BACKGROUND: School climate is one of several important factors influencing adolescent well-being and life satisfaction. Although a growing number of studies investigate the role of school climate, they often apply a global scale and only a few of them measure any specific elements. Likewise, most studies are focused on well-being and not life satisfaction. AIM: The purpose of this study is to investigate how different elements of school climate (teacher responsiveness, disruptive behavior, positive mutual bonds, classroom atmosphere, growth) are related to life satisfaction among a sample of Jordanian high school students. METHODS: Using a self-administered and online questionnaire, the sample consists of adolescents from public schools located in northern Jordan (N = 2141, aged 13–18 years). RESULTS: Jordanian high school students’ levels of life satisfaction were higher for girls [t(2139) = -8.2, p < .001]. Disruptive behavior correlated negatively with classroom atmosphere (r = -0.50; p < .001 among girls and r = -0.45; p < .001 for boys); teacher responsiveness was positively correlated with growth (r = 0.49; p < .001 for girls and r = 0.61; p < .001 for boys). However, the role of disruptive behavior was different for girls (negative) compared to boys (positive), although these correlations were weak. In multiple regression analyses, teacher responsiveness (β = 0.22; p < .001) and positive mutual bonds (β = 0.19; p < .001) were largest contributors to life satisfaction beyond self-assessed socioeconomic status (β = 0.27; p < .001). Age (β = -0.08; p < .01) and growth (β = 0.27; p < .001) were significant only for boys. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate the importance of examining different elements of school climate in an effort to better understand adolescents’ life satisfaction. Certain gender differences may highlight differences in social needs across different classroom settings which require further investigation.