Original scientific paper

Adolescents' Life Goals, Orientations to Happiness and Psycological Needs: Which is the Best Path to Happiness?

Ingrid Brdar orcid.org/0000-0001-6132-1287 ; Odsjek za psihologiju, Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Rijeci
Petra anić ; Odsjek za psihologiju, Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Rijeci

Abstract

Happiness is most frequently investigated as subjective well-being, referring to people’s cognitive and emotional evaluations of their lives. Studies have shown that intrinsic life goals, like self-acceptance, affiliation and community feeling, contribute to subjective well-being because they enable the fulfillment of basic psychological needs. Happier people are more oriented to the life of engagement and meaning. However, young people in our country are exposed to the promotion of materialistic values.
In this study we explored which life goals and paths to happiness are associated with life satisfaction and affective well-being of Croatian adolescents. In addition, we wanted to find out which approach to happiness better fulfills basic psychological needs. Four questionnaires were administered to a sample of 218 high-school students (156 girls and 72 boys, mean age 16.5 years): PANAS, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Approaches to Happiness Questionnaire, Life Aspiration Index and Basic Psychological Needs Scale.
Regression analyses accounted for one third of variance in subjective wellbeing components. Psychological needs significantly predict all its components – greater life satisfaction, experiencing more positive and fewer negative affect. Extrinsic goals contribute to both positive and negative affect to a lesser extent. Orientation to meaningful life significantly accounts for the variability in both affective subjective well-being components, whereas orientation to engaged life explains only the cognitive component. The life of pleasure does not explain subjective well-being. Results of our study are consistent with self-determination theory and confirm the results of previous studies that extrinsic life goals (social recognition, financial success and image) are not related to subjective well-being.

Keywords

subjective well-being; life goals; basic psychological needs; orientations to happiness; satisfaction with life; positive and negative emotions

Hrčak ID:

56834

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/56834

Publication date:

30.6.2010.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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