Abstract
This longitudinal study presents the first examination of the relation between positive psychology constructs, mental health and academic achievement of students in Portugal. Using a sample of 367 middle-school students, the study revealed that crosssectional and longitudinal patterns of correlations between positive variables were consistent with expectations for the most part and suggested that hope, life satisfaction and self-worth have meaningful relations with mental health and academic achievement. In addition, no significant changes were found between the variables in study across the administrations and throughout the two cohorts, and all the variables in study demonstrate moderate to high stability across a 1- and 2-year time frame. Hope predicts students’ academic achievement, and life satisfaction was the strongest predictor of mental health, over 2-years. The implications of the findings are discussed with reference to prior studies and for future research.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alves-Martins, M., Peixoto, F., Mata, L., & Monteiro, V. (1995). Self-perception profile for children of Susan Harter. In L. S. Almeida, M. R. Simões, & M. M. Gonçalves (Eds.), Provas Psicológicas em Portugal (pp. 79–89). Braga: APPORT. (in Portuguese).
Archer, S. L. (1989). Gender differences in identity development: Issues of process, domain, and timing. Journal of Adolescence, 12, 117–138.
Aunola, K., Stattin, H., & Nurmi, J. E. (2000). Adolescents’ achievement strategies, school adjustment, and externalizing and internalizing problem behaviours. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 29, 289–306.
Barling, J., & Kelloway, E. K. (eds.) (1999). Young workers: Varieties of experience. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Baumeister, R. F., Campbell, J. D., Krueger, J. I., & Vohs, K. D. (2005). Exploding the self-esteem myth. Scientific American, 292, 84–92.
Dew, T., & Huebner, E. S. (1994). Adolescents’ perceived quality of life: An exploratory investigation. Journal of School Psychology, 33, 185–199.
Diener, E. (1994). Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities. Social Indicators Research, 31, 103–157.
Evans, D. L., Foa, E. B., Gur, R. E., Hendin, R., O’Brien, C. P., Seligman, M. E. P., et al. (Eds.). (2005). Treating and preventing adolescent mental health disorders: What we know and what we don’t know: A research agenda for improving the mental health of our youth. New York: Oxford University Press.
Faria, L., & Fontaine, A. M. (1995). Adaptation of the self-perception profile for children (SPPC) by Harter in children and pre-adolescents. Psicologia, X(3), 129–142. (in Portuguese).
Gaspar, T., Ribeiro, J., Matos, M., Leal, I., & Ferreira, A. (in press). Revision of the self-esteem scale for Portuguese children and adolescents by Susan Harter. Psicologia da Criança e do Adolescente (in Portuguese).
Gilman, R., Dooley, J., & Florell, D. (2006). Relative levels of hope and their relationship with academic and psychological indicators among adolescents. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25, 166–178.
Haranin, E. C., Huebner, E. S., & Suldo, S. M. (2007). Predictive and incremental validity of gobal and domain-based adolescent life satisfaction reports. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 25, 127–138.
Harter, S. (1985). Manual for the self-perception profile for children. Denver: University of Denver.
Harter, S. (1990). Causes, correlates, and the functional role of global self-worth: A life span perspective. In R. J. Sternberg & J. J. Kooligan Jr. (Eds.), Competence considered (pp. 67–97). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Harter, S. (1999). The construction of self. New York: Guilford Press.
Huebner, E. S. (1991). Initial development of the Student’ Life Satisfaction Scale. School Psychology International, 12, 231–240.
Huebner, E. S. (2004). Research on assessment of life satisfaction of children and adolescents. Social Indicators Research, 66, 3–33.
Huebner, E. S., & Alderman, G. L. (1993). Convergent and discriminant validation of a Children’s Life Satisfaction Scale: Its relationship to self and teacher-reported psychological problems and school functioning. Social Indicators Research, 30, 71–82.
Huebner, E. S., Funk, B. A., & Gilman, R. (2000). Cross-sectional and longitudinal psychosocial correlates of adolescent life satisfaction reports. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 16, 53–64.
Huebner, E. S., Gilman, R., & Suido, S. M. (2007). Assessing perceived quality of life in children and youth. In S. R. Smith & L. Handler (Eds.), Clinical assessment of children and adolescents: A practitioner’s guide (pp. 347–363). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Johnson, W., McGue, M., & Iacono, W. G. (2006). Genetic and environmental influences on academic achievement trajectories during adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 42, 514–532.
Kirkcaldy, B., Furnham, A., & Siefen, G. (2004). The relationship between health efficacy, educational attainment, and well-being among 30 nations. European Psychologist, 9, 107–119.
Kohlberg, L., Levine, C., & Hewer, A. (1983). Moral stages: A current formulation and a response to critics. Contributions to Human Development, 10, 174.
Larson, R. W. (2000). Toward a psychology of positive youth development. American Psychologist, 55, 170–183.
Lopez, S. J., Rose, S., Robinson, C., Marques, S. C., & Pais-Ribeiro, J. L. (2009). Measuring and promoting hope in school children. In R. Gilman, E. S. Huebner, & M. J. Furlong (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology in the schools (pp. 37–51). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Marques, S. C., Lopez, S. J., & Pais-Ribeiro, J. L. (2009a). “Building Hope for the Future”—A program to foster strengths in middle-school students. Journal of Happiness Studies. doi:10.1007/s10902-009-9180-3.
Marques, S. C., Pais-Ribeiro, J. L., & Lopez, S. J. (2009b). Validation of a Portuguese version of the Children’s Hope Scale. School Psychology International, 30, 538–551.
Marques, S. C., Pais-Ribeiro, J. L., & Lopez, S. J. (2007). Validation of a Portuguese version of the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2, 83–94.
Marques, S. C., Pais-Ribeiro, J. L., & Lopez, S. J. (2008). Stability of the children’s hope scale and students’ Life Satisfaction Scale. Psicologia, Saude & Doenças, 9, 245–252. (in Portuguese).
Marques, S. C., Pais-Ribeiro, J. L. & Lopez, S. J. (2011). Use of the “Mental Health Inventory-5” with Portuguese 10–15 year olds. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 12, 139–152.
McArdle, J. J., & Woodcock, R. W. (1997). Expanding test-retest designs to include developmental time-lag components. Psychological Methods, 2, 403–435.
McCullough, G., & Huebner, E. S. (2003). Life satisfaction reports of adolescents with learning disabilities and normally achieving adolescents. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 21, 311–324.
McHorney, C. A., Ware, J. E., Lu, J. F., & Sherbourne, C. D. (1994). The MOS item short-form health survey. III. Tests of data quality scaling assumptions and reliability across diverse patient groups. Medical Care, 32, 40–66.
McKnight, C. G., Huebner, E. S., & Suldo, S. M. (2002). Relationships among stressful life events, temperament, problem behaviour, and global life satisfaction in adolescents. Psychology in the Schools, 39, 677–687.
Ostroff, J. S., Woolverton, K. S., Berry, C., & Lesko, L. M. (1996). Use of the mental health inventory with adolescents: A secondary analysis of the Rand Health Insurance Study. Psychological Assessment, 8, 105–107.
Pais-Ribeiro, J. L. (2001). Mental health inventory: A study of adaptation to Portuguese population. Psicologia, Saúde & Doenças, 2, 77–99. (in Portuguese).
Papalia, D., & Olds, S. (1995). Human Development (6th edn.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Pavot, W., Diener, E., Colvin, C., & Sandvik, E. (1991). Further validation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale: Evidence for the Cross-method convergence of well-being measures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 57, 149–161.
Piaget, J. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. New York: International University Press. (Original work published 1936).
Rich, G. J. (2003). The positive psychology of youth and adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32, 1–3.
Riesen, Y., & Porath, M. (2004). Perceived social support of martially abused women and their children’s global self-worth. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 23, 109–115.
Shorey, H. S., Snyder, C. R., Yang, X., & Lewin, M. R. (2003). The role of hope as a mediator in recollected parenting, adult attachment, and mental health. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 22, 685–715.
Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 249–275.
Snyder, C. R., Harris, C., Anderson, J. R., Holleran, S. A., Irving, L. M., Sigmon, S. T., et al. (1991). The will and the ways: Development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 570–585.
Snyder, C. R., Hoza, B., Pelham, W. E., Rapoff, M., Ware, L., Danovsky, M., et al. (1997). The development and validation of the Children’s Hope Scale. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 22, 399–421.
Snyder, C. R., Lopez, S. J., Shorey, H. S., Rand, K. L., & Feldman, D. B. (2003). Hope theory, measurements, and applications to school psychology. School Psychology Quarterly, 18, 122–139.
Snyder, C. R., Shorey, H. S., Cheavens, J., Pulvers, K. M., Adams, V. H., I. I. I., & Wiklund, C. (2002). Hope and academic success in college. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 820–826.
Spencer, S. J., Josephs, R. A., & Steele, C. M. (1993). Low self-esteem, the uphill struggle for self-integrity. In R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), Self-esteem: The puzzle of low self-regard (pp. 21–36). New York: Plenum.
Stewart, A. L., Hays, R. D., & Ware, J. E. (1988). The MOS Short-Form General Health Survey: Reliability and validity in a patient population. Medical Care, 26, 724–735.
Suldo, S. M., & Huebner, E. S. (2004a). Does life satisfaction moderate the effects of stressful life events on psychopathological behaviour in adolescence? School Psychology Quarterly, 19, 93–105.
Suldo, S. M., & Huebner, E. S. (2004b). The role of life satisfaction in the relationship between authoritative parenting dimension and adolescent problem behavior. Social Indicators Research, 66, 165–195.
Suldo, S. M., Riley, K., & Shaffer, E. J. (2006). Academic correlates of children and adolescents’ life satisfaction. School Psychology International, 27, 567–582.
Suldo, S. M., & Shaffer, E. J. (2008). Looking beyond psychopathology: The dual-factor model of mental health in youth. School Psychology Review, 37, 52–68.
Suldo, S. M., Shaunessy, E., & Hardesty, R. (2008). Relationships among stress, coping, and mental health in high-achieving high school students. Psychology in the Schools, 45, 273–290.
UNICEF. (2007). Report Card 7. Child poverty in perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.
Valle, M. F., Huebner, E. S., & Suldo, S. M. (2004). Further evaluation of the Children’s Hope Scale. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 22, 320–337.
Valle, M. F., Huebner, E. S., & Suldo, S. M. (2006). An analysis of hope as a psychological strength. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 393–406.
Veit, C. T., & Ware, J. E., Jr. (1983). The structure of psychological distress and well-being in general populations. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 730–742.
Ware, J. E., & Sherbourne, C. D. (1992). The MOS 36-itemshort-form health survey (SF-36): I. Conceptual framework and item selection. Medical Care, 30, 473–481.
Ware, J., Snow, K., Kosinski, M., & Gandek, B. (1993). SF-36 Health Survey: Manual and interpretation guide. Boston: The Health Institute, New England Medical Center.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded via a Foundation for the Science and Technology (FCT) grant obtained by the first author. We wish also to address our thanks to Dr. Joanna Mitchell (Monash University, Australia) for her comments on the manuscript and to Dr. Estela Vilhena (Porto University, Portugal) and Dr. Elena C. Papanastasiou (University of Nicosia, Cyprus) for their comments on the statistical analysis of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marques, S.C., Pais-Ribeiro, J.L. & Lopez, S.J. The Role of Positive Psychology Constructs in Predicting Mental Health and Academic Achievement in Children and Adolescents: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study. J Happiness Stud 12, 1049–1062 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-010-9244-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-010-9244-4