The Role of Life Satisfaction in Predicting Student Engagement and Achievement

Much research has investigated how individual components of subjective well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect) influence adolescent functioning. Little is known, however, about how the third component of subjective well-being (SWB), life satisfaction, contributes to positive adolescent outcomes when investigated simultaneously with positive and negative emotions. The current study extends Lewis et al.’s (J Psychoeduc Assess 27:397–408, 2009. doi:10.1177/0734282908330571) work by considering the incremental validity of life satisfaction (LS) relative to negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) as predictors of student engagement and achievement in a sample of middle school students. Results indicated LS provided incremental validity over affective states in predicting student engagement and some aspects of academic achievement. Gender also moderated these relationships. Practitioners are encouraged to include all components of SWB in assessments, especially when trying to understand students’ school functioning.