Network Dynamics of Life Satisfaction, Domain Satisfaction and Affective Well-Being in Adolescence

Several studies have investigated mean-level changes in subjective well-being (SWB) in adolescence, but how the different SWB facets are dynamically related at this age is underexplored. In this article, we apply psychometric network modeling to longitudinal data from the 3-wave GLUECK panel study of 1,427 adolescents to analyze within-person and between-person dynamics in the structure of SWB (life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, school satisfaction, self-satisfaction, family satisfaction, friendship satisfaction and neighborhood satisfaction). School satisfaction was the most central domain on the within-person level, while satisfaction with the self was prominently central at the between-person level. We did not find strong evidence for longitudinal top-down or bottom-up effects between life satisfaction and domain satisfaction. Instead, we found more evidence for temporally lagged relationships between domain satisfaction and affective well-being. We conclude that domain satisfaction is central to relationships across SWB facets in adolescence and should be considered more often in this context.