Abstract

This study examined adolescents’ perception of satisfaction from various life domains according to gender and parenting styles among 562 Turkish adolescents [53.2% girls; Mean (M) age = 14.1, Standard Deviation (SD) = 0.85]. The participants completed the multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale and the parenting style inventory. The results indicated that the level of family satisfaction of female adolescents was lower than that of male adolescents. The scores of adolescents from authoritative families were higher than those of adolescents from neglectful families in satisfaction with friends, living environments and family domains. In a similar way, adolescents who perceived their parents as indulgent had higher scores than adolescents who perceived their parents as neglectful in the life satisfaction dimensions of friends, family and self. No significant difference was found between authoritative and indulgent styles for any dimension of life satisfaction. The results are discussed in relation to previous research; study limitations and further research directions are also outlined.

Key words: Parenting styles, life satisfaction, adolescence.