Adolescents’ meaning in life as a resilience factor between bullying victimization and life satisfaction

Periodical
148
Year
2023
Issue number
1-8
Relates to study/studies
PISA 2018

Adolescents’ meaning in life as a resilience factor between bullying victimization and life satisfaction

Abstract

Meaning in life (MIL) was examined as a resilience factor buffering and compensating for the negative relationship between bullying victimization and life satisfaction using a nationally representative sample of U.S adolescents from the 2018 round of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Using the latent moderated structural equations (LMS) approach, results indicated that the interaction effect of bullying victimization and MIL on life satisfaction was significant with an adequate model fit, suggesting adolescents’ MIL as a buffer against low life satisfaction associated with bullying victimization. MIL was also significantly related to life satisfaction, accounting for bullying victimization, suggesting that adolescents’ MIL compensates for the relationship between bullying victimization and low life satisfaction. Findings suggest the importance of promoting MIL to protect adolescents’ life satisfaction against bullying victimization. Limitations of this study and future research directions are discussed.