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Journal of Happiness Studies
An Interdisciplinary Forum on
Subjective Well-Being
ISSN 1389-4978
J Happiness Stud
DOI 10.1007/s10902-015-9666-0
Life Satisfaction and Coping in Hindu
Adolescents in India
Susan Antaramian, Shanmukh
V.Kamble & E.Scott Huebner
1 23
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RESEARCH PAPER
Life Satisfaction and Coping in Hindu Adolescents
in India
Susan Antaramian
1
•Shanmukh V. Kamble
2
•
E. Scott Huebner
3
Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
Abstract This exploratory study examined the relations between approach and avoidance
coping behaviors and general life satisfaction in a sample of 248 Hindu adolescents from
an urban area in India. The major findings were threefold. First, gender differences were
observed, with females reporting more frequent use of the strategies of seeking social
support, direct problem solving, and internalizing behaviors. Second, using multiple
regression analyses, the coping behaviors of problem solving and externalizing behaviors
accounted for significant, unique variance in life satisfaction scores. Third, gender did not
moderate the relations between any of the coping behaviors and life satisfaction. Possible
implications for health promotion are discussed.
Keywords Life satisfaction Coping Indian adolescents Gender differences
1 Introduction
In recent years, increasing attention has been directed to identifying positive indicators of
youth functioning. Although addressing problems in children and adolescents is an
important goal, many scholars and practitioners are expanding this focus to include pos-
itive characteristics and strengths, such as life satisfaction and adaptive coping, that help
individuals to thrive. Almost all research to date has been conducted with samples of
children and adolescents in Western industrialized nations. There have been calls,
&Susan Antaramian
susan.antaramian@cnu.edu
1
Department of Psychology, Christopher Newport University, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Newport News,
VA 23606, USA
2
Department of Psychology, Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka 580003, India
3
Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia,
SC 29208, USA
123
J Happiness Stud
DOI 10.1007/s10902-015-9666-0
Author's personal copy
however, for greater cross-cultural research in order to fully understand positive psycho-
logical well-being in youth in different cultures (Proctor et al. 2009). The current study,
therefore, investigates these positive constructs in an understudied population, specifically
Hindu adolescents in India.
Subjective well-being is one example of a positive construct that has been studied in
children and adolescents. It can be defined as an individual’s perception of his or her life
quality and includes both emotional experiences and cognitive appraisals (Diener 1984).
Life satisfaction is viewed as the cognitive component of subjective well-being and
involves the cognitive evaluation of the quality of one’s life overall. Although life satis-
faction reflects the impact of life events and mood states, it also extends beyond the
transitory nature of such influences (Diener et al. 1999). Accordingly, it is considered to be
the most stable component of subjective well-being and therefore is often investigated as
the best indicator of a person’s perceptions about his or her life (Huebner et al. 2006).
Research suggests that life satisfaction is a critical component of positive well-being
and adjustment in children and adolescents. High youth life satisfaction facilitates a
number of positive outcomes, including less delinquency and aggression, fewer symptoms
of anxiety and depression, higher school grades, and increased self-efficacy and self-
esteem (Gilman and Huebner 2006; Gilman et al. 2000; MacDonald et al. 2005; Suldo and
Huebner 2006). Adolescents with high life satisfaction are also less likely to exhibit
behavior problems after experiencing stressful life events (Suldo and Huebner 2004).
Furthermore, a series of studies have identified individuals who display few psy-
chopathological symptoms but still have low levels of life satisfaction (Antaramian et al.
2010; Greenspoon and Saklofske 2001; Suldo and Shaffer 2008). These youth differ from
children and adolescents with low psychopathology and high life satisfaction on several
important outcomes, including social functioning, physical health, school engagement, and
academic achievement (Antaramian et al. 2010; Suldo and Shaffer 2008). Thus, life sat-
isfaction can be considered an important psychological strength that helps to facilitate
adaptive development throughout childhood and adolescence. In particular, the early
adolescent period is especially important because decreases in life satisfaction (Proctor
et al. 2009) and increases in maladaptive behaviors have been reported in the US and
elsewhere (Kessler et al. 2005; Patel et al. 2007).
Because of the advantages associated with life satisfaction, researchers have sought to
identify factors that are important for predicting life satisfaction in children and adoles-
cents. Evans (1994) offers a theoretical model which suggests that a variety of personality
and dispositional characteristics as well as environmental factors influence life satisfaction.
Consistent with this theory, several contextual factors related to the outcome of high youth
life satisfaction have been identified, including family relationships and parental support,
peer relationships, socioeconomic status, and the experience of stressful life events (Ash
and Huebner 2001; Gilman and Huebner 2006; McCullough et al. 2000; Suldo and
Huebner 2006). Substantial research evidence also indicates that life satisfaction is asso-
ciated with several intrapersonal characteristics as well. Positive emotions, high emotional
self-efficacy, internal locus of control, high levels of extraversion, and low levels of
neuroticism are all associated with the outcome of increased life satisfaction in adolescents
(Gilman and Huebner 2006; McCullough et al. 2000; Suldo and Huebner 2006). See
Proctor et al. (2009) for a more extensive review.
According to Evans’ (1994) theory, the relationship between personality and environ-
mental factors and life satisfaction is partially mediated by general skills that can be
applied across multiple life domains. One example of these general skills is coping. Coping
can be defined as a response to stressful circumstances or experiences that involves
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attempts to regulate thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and the environment (Compas et al.
2001). Although many conceptualizations of coping exist, one widely cited approach
distinguishes problem-focused and emotion-focused coping (Ebata and Moos 1994;
Lazarus and Folkman 1987). Problem-focused coping responses are aimed at directly
addressing the source of stress, while emotion-focused coping responses involve regulating
negative emotions that result from the stressful circumstances. Thus, this conceptualization
describes coping behaviors in terms of their hypothesized function (Ebata and Moos 1994;
Lazarus and Folkman 1987).
An alternative model distinguishes approach and avoidance as two different dimensions
of coping. Approach-oriented coping techniques can serve both problem-focused and
emotion-focused functions and involve active efforts to deal with the source of stress or the
associated emotions. Avoidance coping strategies, in contrast, are behaviors that are ori-
ented away from the stressor and often involve minimizing or denying it. Accordingly, this
model describes coping in terms of its focus, either toward or away from the source of
stress (Compas et al. 2001; Ebata and Moos 1994).
Although these general conceptualizations offer some insight into different aspects of
coping responses, they have been criticized for being too broad and incorporating many
different coping behaviors into a single category. Accordingly, these dichotomous clas-
sifications may mask differences in the effects and outcomes of many varied subtypes of
coping (Compas et al. 2001). A more detailed delineation identifies the specific coping
behaviors that comprise these broad categories. For example, Causey and Dubow (1992)
specify that approach strategies include such coping behaviors as problem solving and
seeking social support, while avoidance techniques can include distancing as well as
internalizing and externalizing emotional reactions.
Few studies have investigated the contribution of coping behavior to individual dif-
ferences in adolescents’ general or overall life satisfaction. Consistent with Evan’s (1994)
theory, the vast majority of the studies have treated general life satisfaction as the criterion
variable and coping behavior as the predictor variable. The bulk of the evidence suggests
meaningful relations between coping and youth life satisfaction. Suldo et al. (2008)
investigated life satisfaction in relation to the coping behaviors of positive appraisal,
family communication, negative avoidance, and anger among a sample of high-achieving
high school students in the US. Findings indicated that these four coping behaviors
explained over 30 % of the variance in adolescents’ life satisfaction (Suldo et al. 2008). In
general, problem-focused coping appears related to higher life satisfaction and emotion-
focused coping strategies appear associated with lower life satisfaction among adolescents
(Grob et al. 1999; MacCann et al. 2012). Regarding more specific coping behaviors,
problem-solving and positive appraisal of the stressful situation are both positively related
to life satisfaction (Fernando 2008; Lewis and Frydenberg 2004; Saha et al. 2014; Suldo
et al. 2008). Seeking social support and communicating with family members are also
associated with higher life satisfaction (Fernando 2008; Saha et al. 2014; Suldo et al.
2008), but simply spending more time with friends is unrelated (Lewis and Frydenberg
2004). Similarly, studies suggest that distancing or avoiding the stressful situation is not
significantly related to life satisfaction either positively or negatively (Fernando 2008;
MacCann et al. 2012; Saha et al. 2014). Coping behaviors involving negative emotions,
however, are associated with lower life satisfaction. Emotional reactions that involve
externalizing, anger, acting up, internalizing, and self-blame have all been demonstrated to
be negatively related to life satisfaction (Fernando 2008; Lewis and Frydenberg 2004; Saha
et al. 2014; Suldo et al. 2008). Using substances to deal with the situation is also negatively
associated with life satisfaction (Suldo et al. 2008).
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In a longitudinal investigation, Saha et al. (2014) investigated whether coping behaviors
could predict adolescents’ life satisfaction several months later. Results indicated that
problem-solving, internalizing, externalizing and distancing did not predict later life sat-
isfaction, but seeking social support was a significant predictor. Thus, this particular coping
strategy may be an especially important factor for facilitating adolescents’ well-being.
Whatever the case, this research is clearly in its beginning stages, and more research is
needed to explicate the theoretical and empirical nuances of the nature of the associations
between coping behaviors and life satisfaction as well as the generalizability of the findings
across nations and cultures.
Research conducted in the US, Canada, and several Western European nations suggests
that there may be gender differences in youth coping behaviors, although the exact nature
of these gender differences is not entirely clear. One of the most consistent findings is that
female adolescents exhibit more social support seeking than males, including seeking help
from both family and friends (Altermatt 2007; Ebata and Moos 1994; Eschenbeck et al.
2007; Fernando 2008; Hoar et al. 2010; Patterson and McCubbin 1987). Female youth also
appear to exhibit higher levels of problem-solving and self-reliance (Eschenbeck et al.
2007; MacCann et al. 2012; Pascual et al. 2012; Patterson and McCubbin 1987), although
this difference is not statistically significant in some studies (Fernando 2008; Kochen-
derfer-Ladd and Skinner 2002). Similar inconsistent findings exist for coping behaviors
that involve negative emotions. Some evidence suggests that female youth have higher
levels of internalizing (Altermatt 2007; Pascual et al. 2012) and that male youth show more
externalizing (Hoar et al. 2010; Kochenderfer-Ladd and Skinner 2002), but others indicate
no significant gender differences in these coping behaviors (Eschenbeck et al. 2007;
Fernando 2008). Finally, males exhibit more distancing and avoidance as a coping
response in some studies (Eschenbeck et al. 2007; MacCann et al. 2012), while other
evidence indicates approximately equal levels of distancing for male and female youth
(Fernando 2008; Kochenderfer-Ladd and Skinner 2002; Pascual et al. 2012; Patterson and
McCubbin 1987). Eschenbeck et al. (2007) suggest that the contradictory findings may be
due to contextual factors and the fact that researchers may assess coping in response to a
variety of different stressors. Youth may respond differently, for example, when coping
with an academic stressor than with a social stressor. Thus, further research is needed to
clarify the meaning of the extant research.
In addition to potential differences in overall levels of various coping behaviors, there
may also be gender differences in the association between coping and other youth well-
being variables. The literature on life satisfaction provides little direction on gender effects.
However, in a study of 9- and 10-year-old children in the US, Kochenderfer-Ladd and
Skinner (2002) found that internalizing coping was associated with greater anxiety and
depression for boys but not girls, and distancing was associated with greater social
problems for girls but not boys. Among a sample of adolescents in Australia, Lewis and
Frydenberg (2004) found that seeking social support was positively related to general well-
being and ignoring and worrying were negatively related to well-being for females, but
these relationships were not significant for male adolescents. Thus, gender may influence
the effects that various coping behaviors have on adolescents’ adjustment.
Although these studies provide some information about youth overall life satisfaction
and coping, the findings were obtained only from samples in Western industrialized
countries. Recently, there has been an increasing recognition that more cross-cultural
research is needed to truly understand the complexities of these psychological variables
across different cultures (Grob et al. 1999; Proctor et al. 2009). Many factors may con-
tribute to cross-cultural differences in well-being. For example, Diener et al. (1995) found
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that income levels, individualism, and human rights were strong predictors of subjective
well-being in different countries. Well-being may also be influenced by such cultural
factors as modernization and industrialization, religion, availability of health care, and
safety issues within a particular country (McConatha et al. 2004). Thus, it should not be
assumed that findings among samples in the US necessarily generalize to other cultures.
India in particular has several characteristics that make it especially unique in com-
parison to other cultures. Currently India is the second most populated country in the
world, with over one billion residents. India is also linguistically and religiously diverse,
with 14 official languages and with a large population of Hindu individuals but also smaller
populations of Muslim and Christian individuals. In recent years, India has experienced
rapid economic development that contributed to an increase in overall wealth, yet the
country is still relatively poor and most of its people live in non-industrialized rural
regions. India has a long history of challenges that include poverty, droughts, religious
violence, and conflict with other countries (Biswas-Diener et al. 2012). Although experi-
encing many changes, India continues to be considered a more collectivistic (vs. indi-
vidualistic) culture than the North American cultures (Sivadas et al. 2008) in which the
majority of previous studies of life satisfaction have been conducted (Proctor et al. 2009).
Thus, India presents an especially interesting case to investigate.
A number of studies have evaluated the well-being of adults in India. In large-scale
international research, India is typically among the lower-scoring countries on indicators of
life satisfaction and happiness (Biswas-Diener et al. 2012; Diener et al. 1995; Schyns
1998). However, recent data from the Gallup World Poll suggest that life satisfaction in
India is still mildly positive, with an average score of 5.20 on a 10-point scale (Biswas-
Diener et al. 2012). Thus, while adults in India may not be as satisfied as adults in some
other nations, their overall life satisfaction seems to be positive. Moreover, evidence
suggests that there may be differences among various populations within India. Biswas-
Diener et al. (2012) found that life satisfaction was significantly higher for individuals in
urban areas compared to those in rural areas, most likely because of increased access to
education, jobs, and services.
Research on the life satisfaction of youth in India is very limited. Focusing primarily on
the positive emotions component of Diener’s (1984) definition of subjective well-being,
Holder et al. (2012) investigated the happiness of children and young adolescents in India.
A sample of 441 youth ages 7–14 years reported their levels of happiness, and their parents
also reported their observations of their children’s happiness. Almost all (94 %) of the
children’s and parents’ ratings were in the three highest categories of the seven-point Faces
scale, and none of the children or parents rated happiness in the two lowest categories.
These results are comparable to findings using the same measure with Western youth
(Holder and Coleman 2008) and suggest high levels of happiness for Indian youth in this
sample.
In contrast, research evidence from adolescents in other Asian countries suggests that
youth life satisfaction may in fact vary depending on cultural context. For example, studies
of adolescents in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan often indicate lower
levels of life satisfaction compared to that typically reported by their Western peers (Park
and Huebner 2005; Pavot and Diener 2008; Seligson et al. 2003; Shek and Liu 2014;
Stankov 2013; Ye et al. 2014). These data, however, are derived primarily from East and
Southeast Asian countries, which have a unique culture largely rooted in Confucianism
(Stankov 2013). Stankov (2013) found evidence to suggest that modesty and critical social
attitudes in Confucian cultures may contribute to lower levels of life satisfaction and
psychological well-being in these populations. Within the predominantly Hindu culture of
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India, in contrast, an emphasis on life meaning and purpose, positive introspective prac-
tices, and social harmony may instead help to facilitate life satisfaction and well-being
(Young and Sarin 2014). Thus, because of India’s primarily Hindu rather than Confucian
orientation, it is unclear whether Indian youth have similarly lower levels of life satis-
faction or related indices of well-being (e.g., positive emotions) compared to Western
youth, as found in East and Southeast Asian samples, or whether well-being would be
comparable to that of Western youth, as suggested by the findings of Holder et al. (2012).
In addition to potential differences in life satisfaction, other research suggests that
coping behaviors may also be different for Indian youth compared to those in Western
cultures. Sinha et al. (2000) investigated the coping behaviors of 542 first-year university
students in India and Canada. Results indicated that the Indian and Canadian students did
not differ in their use of problem solving to cope with a stressful situation. However, the
Indian students reported greater use of distancing (turning away from the situation) and
externalizing or confrontive coping (dealing with the situation aggressively). The Indian
students also reported higher levels of seeking social support and positive reappraisal of the
situation in comparison to the Canadian students (Sinha et al. 2000). There is also some
evidence indicating that the relationship between coping and well-being may vary across
nations. Grob et al. (1999) examined problem-focused and emotion-focused coping in
relation to well-being (defined as positive attitudes about life and self-esteem) in a sample
of adolescents from several Eastern and Western European countries and the US. Findings
suggested that emotion-focused coping was negatively related to well-being for youth in all
of the countries studied. Additionally, problem-focused coping was positively related to
well-being for most of the nations, but this relationship was not significant among youth in
Bulgaria, Russia, or Czechoslovakia. Further analyses indicated that problem-focused
coping was significantly more strongly related to well-being in Western cultures compared
to Eastern cultures (Grob et al. 1999). Thus, there is evidence that the use of various coping
behaviors and the impact of coping on well-being may vary depending on cultural context.
The current study addresses the call of Proctor et al. (2009) for more studies of youth
life satisfaction outside the US. Because of the relative lack of literature on coping and life
satisfaction of youth in India, the current study is primarily exploratory in nature, and thus
specific hypotheses were limited. Early adolescence was targeted because of the unique
challenges of this developmental stage, which include changing family and peer rela-
tionships, increasing importance of school achievement, changing self-perceptions, and
establishing a sense of identity (Valiyamattam et al. 2013). Thus, well-being and skills in
managing emotional experiences are increasingly important at this age. The following
research questions provided the foundation for this initial exploration of associations
between specific coping behaviors and individual differences in the overall life satisfaction
of early adolescents within the unique cultural context of India. The overarching research
questions included the following:
1. Are there gender differences in coping behaviors among Indian early adolescents?
2. Do coping behaviors predict general life satisfaction in Indian early adolescents?
3. Does gender moderate the relationship between coping and life satisfaction among
Indian adolescents?
Based on the existing literature, three specific hypotheses regarding the relations
between life satisfaction and coping behaviors were formulated. The first hypothesis was
that the approach coping behaviors of problem-solving and seeking social support would
be significantly positive associated with Indian adolescents’ life satisfaction. The second
hypothesis was that the avoidance coping behaviors of internalizing and externalizing
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would be significantly negatively associated with Indian adolescents’ life satisfaction. The
third hypothesis was that distancing coping would be unrelated to Indian adolescents’ life
satisfaction.
2 Method
2.1 Participants
Participants included a convenience sample of students in grades 9 and 10 in urban schools
of the Hubli-Dharwad district in the North Karnataka state of India. To maintain a uniform
sample, seven non-Hindu students (three Muslim, two Christian, and two Sikh) were
excluded from data analyses, yielding a final sample of 248 Hindu adolescents. A total of
52.8 % of the students were female (n=131). Of the 248 participants, 89 were from ninth
grade and 159 were from tenth grade, and they were all drawn from various English-
speaking schools. Their ages ranged from 13 to 16 years, with a mean age of 14.79 years.
All students were from middle-class urban backgrounds.
2.2 Measures
2.2.1 Life Satisfaction
General life satisfaction was assessed through the Multidimensional Students’ Life Sat-
isfaction Scale (MSLSS; Huebner 1994), a self-report scale designed for children ages
8–18. This measure includes 40 items, which students rate on a six-point Likert scale,
ranging from 1 =strongly disagree to 6 =strongly agree. The MSLSS assesses satis-
faction across five distinct domains, including family, friends, living environment, school,
and self. The total or general life satisfaction score was calculated by summing all 40 item
scores and dividing by 40.
Numerous studies have established the reliability and validity of the MSLSS. The
coefficient alpha for the total score has been reported as .92 (Huebner 1994). For the
present sample, the alpha was .85. Support for a general life satisfaction score has been
provided through confirmatory factor analyses (Gilman et al. 2000; Huebner et al. 1998).
Convergent and discriminant validity of the MSLSS has been also established through an
appropriate pattern of correlations with other self-reported measures of subjective well-
being and parent reports (Gilman et al. 2000; Huebner 1994).
2.2.2 Coping
Students’ coping behaviors were assessed using the Self-Report Coping Scale (SRCS;
Causey and Dubow 1992). The SRCS is a 34-item measure that assesses the frequency of
use of five different coping strategies. It is based on an approach-avoidance coping model,
which includes problem-solving/self-reliance and seeking social support as examples of
approach coping behaviors and includes distancing, externalizing, and internalizing
behaviors as examples of avoidance behaviors (Causey and Dubow 1992). Sample items
are ‘Tell a friend or family member what happened’’ and ‘‘Try to think of different ways to
solve it’’ from the seeking social support and problem-solving/self-reliance subscales
respectively. Example items are ‘‘Tell myself it doesn’t matter’’, ‘‘Worry too much about
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it’’, and ‘‘Get mad and throw or hit something’’ from the distancing, internalizing, and
externalizing subscales respectively. Students were asked to report how often they engaged
in each behavior in response to a hypothetical, stressful interpersonal event at school by
rating the items on a five-point Likert scale ranging from ‘‘never’’ to ‘‘always’’ (Causey
and Dubow 1992). Higher mean scores on all subscales indicate that more frequent use of
the particular coping method; for example, a high score for the externalizing subscale
would indicate that this respondent often displays externalizing behaviors as a coping
method in response to the hypothetical event.
Research has indicated acceptable psychometric properties for the SRCS. Using
exploratory factor analysis procedures, Causey and Dubow (1992) provided support for the
five-factor model. Diverse criterion indices (peer ratings of the child’s coping strategies,
self-competence, self-reported anxiety) also supported the construct validity of scores from
the SRCS (Causey and Dubow 1992). In addition, internal consistency reliabilities for the
subscales ranged from .66 to .76 in prior research (Antaramian et al. 2010; Causey and
Dubow 1992; Roecker-Phelps 2001). In the present sample, one internalizing item, ‘‘Go off
by myself,’’ lowered the reliability of this subscale substantially when included. Accord-
ingly, this item was excluded and subsequent analyses used an internalizing score based on
the remaining six items of this subscale. Alphas in this sample were .73, .62, .61, .60, and
.58 for the seeking social support, problem solving, distancing, revised internalizing, and
externalizing subscales, respectively. Consistent with Kline’s (1986) recommendations,
particularly given the small and non-redundant nature of the items in the subscales, these
reliabilities were considered acceptable. Prior research also demonstrated 2-week test–
retest reliabilities ranging from .59 to .78 for the subscales (Causey and Dubow 1992;
Roecker-Phelps 2001). Furthermore, the validity of these subscales has been supported by
positive relationships with similar self-report measures (Causey and Dubow 1992).
2.3 Procedure
Approval for conducting the study was obtained from the university ethics review board.
The second author then obtained permission from the administration at each school from
which participants were to be recruited. He subsequently went to each school, described
the study to the students, and sought their willingness to participate in the study. A
common location was used in the community on a non-school day (i.e., Sunday) to
administer the various measures. Data collection was accomplished in two groups, with
ninth graders and tenth graders tested separately. During each session, the author read the
student assent form aloud and provided verbal instructions to complete the measures. The
students were informed that they had the right to withdraw from the study at any time and
that their answers would remain confidential. The author remained available to answer
questions throughout the sessions.
3 Results
3.1 Descriptive Statistics and Intercorrelations
The descriptive statistics and intercorrelations for life satisfaction and coping behaviors are
presented in Table 1. Overall, adolescents in the current sample indicated relatively high
life satisfaction, with a mean just over 5.0 on a six-point scale. This mean score for general
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life satisfaction was somewhat higher than those reported in studies of life satisfaction in
American adolescents (Antaramian et al. 2008; Fernando 2008; Gilman et al. 2005; Gilman
et al. 2000). Mean scores on the coping dimensions indicated that these adolescents
reported most frequently using problem-solving and distancing and least frequently
engaging in externalizing behaviors.
Correlational analyses revealed primarily nonexistent or weak correlations among the
coping strategies, supporting the separability of the five approaches. Furthermore, con-
sistent with our first hypothesis, the correlations indicated that general life satisfaction was
positively correlated with seeking social support and problem-solving. Consistent with our
second hypothesis, life satisfaction negatively associated with externalizing. Consistent
with our third hypothesis, the association between life satisfaction and distancing was not
statistically significant. However, contrary to the second hypothesis, life satisfaction was
also unrelated to internalizing behavior.
3.2 Gender Differences in Coping Behaviors
A series of independent ttests were conducted to examine gender differences in coping
behaviors. The analyses indicated a significant difference between Indian male and female
students in seeking social support, t(246) =4.00, p\.001. Female adolescents
(M=3.16, SD =.67) reported seeking social support significantly more than male ado-
lescents (M=2.79, SD =.77). The effect size for this difference was moderate, with
Cohen’s d=.51. Females (M=3.84, SD =.50) reported significantly more problem-
solving than males (M=3.70, SD =.56) as well, t(246) =2.10, p=.037, although the
effect size for this difference was smaller, with Cohen’s d=.27. The use of internalizing
as a coping strategy was also higher in the female students (M=2.73, SD =.74) com-
pared to the male students (M=2.47, SD =.68), t(246) =2.83, p=.005, with an effect
size of .36. There were no significant gender differences in the use of distancing or
externalizing.
3.3 Coping Behaviors as Predictors of General Life Satisfaction
Although the bivariate correlations indicated several significant relationships between
coping and general life satisfaction, regression analysis was used to determine the unique
Table 1 Descriptive statistics and correlations among life satisfaction and coping behaviors
123456
1. Life satisfaction –
2. Seeking social support .17** –
3. Problem-solving .25** .31** –
4. Distancing .02 -.09 .00 –
5. Internalizing -.02 .30** .17** -.19** –
6. Externalizing -.24** .04 -.18** .09 .17** –
M5.02 2.99 3.77 3.23 2.61 2.00
SD .49 .74 .54 .68 .72 .79
*p\.05; ** p\.01
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contribution of each coping behavior in predicting life satisfaction and to determine the
total variance in life satisfaction explained by the coping variables. Because there were
significant gender differences in life satisfaction, t(246) =2.45, p=.015, gender was
entered in the first step of a hierarchical regression analysis with general life satisfaction as
the dependent variable to control for this potential confound. The five coping behaviors
were then entered in the second step of the hierarchical regression. Regression assumptions
were tested and found to be within acceptable ranges.
Results from this analysis are reported in Table 2. The results indicated that two coping
strategies significantly predicted general life satisfaction, accounting for 11 % of the
variance beyond that accounted for by gender. Furthermore, the coping behavior of
externalizing had the highest-magnitude beta weight at -.20 (p=.001). Problem-solving
also significantly predicted life satisfaction, with a beta weight of .17 (p=.009). Although
seeking social support was positively correlated with life satisfaction, it was not a sig-
nificant predictor when controlling for gender and the other coping behaviors in this
regression analysis.
3.4 Gender as a Moderator
To determine whether gender moderated the relationship between coping and life satis-
faction, a series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. Following guidelines
recommended by Cohen et al. (2003), each regression model included as predictors gender
and the coping behavior to test for main effects and an interaction term created from the
product of gender and the centered coping variable to test for potential moderation. The
coping behavior was entered as the first step in each hierarchical regression analysis,
gender was entered in the second step, and the interaction term was entered in the third
step. No significant interactions were found between gender and any of the coping
behaviors.
4 Discussion
This study extended the literature on youth life satisfaction by exploring the contribution of
various coping behaviors and gender to individual differences in the overall life satisfac-
tion of early adolescents in a large, major nation, which has previously received little
Table 2 Hierarchical regression analysis predicting general life satisfaction from coping behaviors
Criterion variable: general life satisfaction btDR
2
Total R
2
F
Step 1: Covariate .02 .02 6.00*
Gender -.15 -2.45*
Step 2: Coping behaviors .11 .13 6.07**
Seeking social support .12 1.84
Problem solving .17 2.62**
Distancing .05 .73
Internalizing -.06 -.86
Externalizing -.20 -3.22**
*p\.05; ** p\.01
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research attention, specifically related to the life satisfaction of its youth. Consistent with
the call of Proctor et al. (2009) for more studies of the life satisfaction of youth outside of
the US setting, we conducted an investigation of the levels and correlates of the general life
satisfaction of an early adolescent sample of Hindu students in India. The major findings
were fourfold. First, the mean score on the general life satisfaction measure was somewhat
higher in this sample than that reported in convenience samples of life satisfaction of
American early adolescents (e.g., Antaramian et al. 2008; Fernando 2008; Gilman et al.
2000,2005). This finding of relatively high life satisfaction may suggest a distinction from
the typically lower life satisfaction of East and Southeast Asian adolescents and instead
parallels the findings of the aforementioned study of the related variable of happiness
among Indian children of ages 7–14 (Holder et al. 2012). However, although the findings
are not directly comparable, the findings of this study suggest that there may be discon-
tinuities with the findings of the Gallup World Poll revealing that adults in India reported
lower life satisfaction overall than adults in the US (Biswas-Diener et al. 2012). Together,
the studies imply the possibility that the subjective well-being of adults and some youth in
India may differ and that the unique developmental characteristics of early adolescents
may contribute to levels of well-being that differ from that of the adult population. Nev-
ertheless, another possible explanation for the relatively higher life satisfaction among
these adolescents is that this sample was drawn from schools in urban settings. Previous
research suggests that life satisfaction is higher among Indian adults in urban regions
compared to those in rural regions (Biswas-Diener et al. 2012). Thus, it is possible that
lower life satisfaction may be found in adolescents from more rural sections of India. More
research is needed to determine whether life satisfaction is similarly high among Indian
youth of different backgrounds and geographic regions. Obviously, studies incorporating
large-scale representative samples are needed to understand and describe the well-being of
youth in India in a meaningful way.
Second, gender differences were observed among the Hindu Indian early adolescents,
with female students reporting more frequent use of the strategies of seeking more social
support, direct problem solving and internalizing behaviors. The finding of more frequent
reported use of social support seeking coping behaviors (but not the more frequent use of
problem-solving and internalizing behaviors) among females is consistent with Fernando’s
(2008) study of American middle school students. This finding is also consistent with other
previous studies of adolescent coping strategy preferences in the US (Kochenderfer-Ladd
and Skinner 2002) and Australia (Lewis and Frydenberg 2004). The reasons for such
gender differences in the US may be suggested by studies showing that female adolescents
experience more positive outcomes for seeking social support than male adolescents.
Specifically, when American adolescent boys purposely seek out interpersonal relation-
ships in the face of stress, they may experience disapproval or ridicule (Kochenderfer-Ladd
and Skinner 2002). Typically for female adolescents, it is considered more socially
acceptable for them to seek out interpersonal relationships from siblings, parents, friends,
and other adults. This difference may lead to female adolescents receiving more rein-
forcement for social support seeking behavior than male adolescents (Kochenderfer-Ladd
and Skinner 2002; Lewis and Frydenberg 2004). Thus, a preference for this coping strategy
may generalize across different cultural groups, even in nations that are considered more
collectivistic in nature.
Third, the various coping behaviors differentially related to general life satisfaction
reports of the Hindu Indian students. As hypothesized, specifically, the approach behaviors
of seeking social support and direct attempts at problem-solving related positively to life
satisfaction whereas the avoidance coping strategy of externalizing related negatively to
Life Satisfaction and Coping in Hindu Adolescents in India
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life satisfaction. Also as hypothesized, distancing coping behaviors were unrelated to the
Indian students’ life satisfaction. Contrary to our hypothesis, however, internalizing coping
behavior was also unrelated to the Indian students’ life satisfaction. The finding that
internalizing behavior was unrelated to life satisfaction is inconsistent with the extant body
of literature, based on youth in other nations, implying that further research is warranted to
determine the generalizability of the finding and whether it reflects something unique about
adolescence in the Indian culture. Furthermore, when the unique contributions of the
coping behaviors were examined using multiple regression analyses (and controlling for
gender), the coping behaviors of externalizing and problem-solving accounted for signif-
icant, unique variance in the regression equation. These findings differed from the findings
of Saha et al. (2014), who found that social support seeking (but not problem-solving)
uniquely predicted general life satisfaction of early adolescent American students
6 months later (controlling for baseline life satisfaction scores), suggesting the value of
future cross-cultural, longitudinal research efforts.
Finally, we evaluated whether gender differences moderated the relations between the
various coping variables and the life satisfaction scores of the Indian youth. Consistent
with Fernando’s (2008) results with US adolescents, gender did not moderate the relations
between any of the coping variables and life satisfaction reports. Although there were
gender differences in the frequency of use of the various strategies in stressful situations,
the magnitude of the relations between each coping variable and general life satisfaction
appears to generalize across the two genders for this age group. Accordingly, coping
behaviors contribute to overall life satisfaction of early adolescents in India in the same
manner for both females and males.
Although much more research is needed, especially using experimental and longitudinal
methods, the findings suggests some possible implications for health and educational
professionals charged with understanding and facilitating children’s well-being. Numerous
authors have issued calls for systematic monitoring of children’s well-being at the local
and national levels that incorporates comprehensive indicators, including negative and
positive indicators of well-being (e.g., Ben-Arieh 2008). Controversy has ensued over the
contribution of various measures of well-being as well as measures of its key determinants.
Given the findings of this study in combination with previous studies, one major impli-
cation is that it seems worthwhile to consider the inclusion of positive coping measures
(e.g., approach coping) in addition to the more traditional negative ones (e.g., behavior and
emotional problems) in comprehensive child well-being assessments.
The second major implication is that because specific coping behaviors appear related to
the positive life satisfaction of Indian youth, professionals working with youth in India may
want to consider incorporating coping skills training in child-focused health and educa-
tional programs. The use of particular coping behaviors in response to various stressors has
been shown to be amenable to individual and group intervention efforts (Kraag et al. 2006).
The findings herein suggest that specifically promoting effective direct problem-solving
and social support seeking coping behaviors would be beneficial in enhancing the general
life satisfaction of early adolescents in India.
This study reflects some several important limitations and strengths. First, although
somewhat diverse, the sample of participants constituted a convenience sample. Studies
with different samples, including adolescents from more diverse geographic regions and
varied religious backgrounds, would be beneficial. The results of the current study may not
necessarily generalize to the population of early adolescent Indian students. A second
limitation was the use of youth self-reports as the exclusive method of data collection for
the study, yielding the possibility of method bias. Future researchers may want to utilize
S. Antaramian et al.
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multi-method approaches. A third limitation involves the use of only one prompt (‘‘When
you have an argument or fight with a friend…’’) for the coping measure. The results may
thus be limited to stressful situations involving peer relationships. The coping measure was
designed to include two prompts: the peer relationship prompt included in this study as
well as a prompt dealing with academic stress worded as, ‘‘When I get a bad grade in
school, one worse than I normally get, I usually…’’ (Causey and Dubow 1992; Roecker-
Phelps 2001). Because of constraints related to questionnaire length and time of admin-
istration, the second prompt concerning academic stress was omitted from this study. For
future studies, it could be beneficial to include both prompts to assess the consistency of
coping strategies across situations. A final limitation was the cross-sectional nature of the
study design. Future researchers could employ longitudinal designs to explore the direc-
tionality of the relations. Despite the limitations, it is important to note that studies on
coping strategies and general life satisfaction in adolescents from youth in nations other
than the US have been quite limited. Thus, the current findings provide additional insight
into the relations between the use of specific coping strategies and individual differences in
life satisfaction among early female and male adolescents by examining this relationship
within a novel context, specifically with Hindu early adolescents in India.
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