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Gender differences in adolescents' life satisfaction: A replication study in Kazakhstan.
Romain Brisson1, Assel Adayeva2, Shynar Abdrakhmanova2
1Centre for Childhood and Youth Research, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
Journal of Adolescence
|September 12, 2024
Summary
Adolescent life satisfaction in Kazakhstan shows boys initially report higher scores, but after accounting for other factors, girls report greater satisfaction, supporting the gender-equality paradox. This study investigated gender differences in adolescent well-being.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Adolescent life satisfaction and its variation by gender remain unclear.
- Previous research in Luxembourg indicated higher unadjusted life satisfaction in boys, with gender losing predictive power when controlling for other factors.
- Kazakhstan, a country with lower gender equality than Luxembourg, was chosen to test the gender-equality-paradox hypothesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To replicate Brisson et al.'s study on adolescent life satisfaction in Kazakhstan.
- To investigate the gender-equality-paradox hypothesis in a less gender-equal context.
- To examine gender differences in life satisfaction among adolescents in Kazakhstan.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional data from the 2022 Health-Behavior in School-aged Children study in Kazakhstan.
- A nationally representative sample of 7369 school attendees (mean age 13.4 years, 52.3% female).
- General linear modeling analyses were employed to assess life satisfaction predictors.
Main Results:
- Unadjusted mean life satisfaction scores were higher in boys than in girls, with a smaller gender gap observed in Kazakhstan compared to Luxembourg.
- Controlling for well-identified predictors of life satisfaction reversed the gender effect, indicating higher satisfaction in girls.
- The magnitude of the gender gap in life satisfaction was smaller in Kazakhstan than in Luxembourg.
Conclusions:
- The study supports the gender-equality-paradox hypothesis, suggesting that in less gender-equal societies, girls may report higher life satisfaction when controlling for other factors.
- Unlike the Luxembourg study, controlling for predictors in Kazakhstan changed the sign of the gender effect, implying girls are more satisfied.
- Future research should explore gendered assessment criteria and sociobiological differences contributing to this paradox.
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