Correlations of School Life Satisfaction, Self-esteem and Coping Style in Middle School Students

Objective: To explore the effect of demographic factors on school life satisfaction, self-esteem and coping style in middle school students, and examine relationships between school life satisfaction and the other two factors. Methods: A survey on school life satisfaction was conducted in 3,127 middle school students by applying School Life Satisfaction Rating Questionnaire for Adolescents. Self-esteem was evaluated by Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale (SES) and coping style was evaluated by Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire. Variance test were used to compare difference of school life satisfaction scores among different self-esteem and coping style levels. Multiple stepwise regression was applied to analyze prediction value of demographic factors, self-esteem and coping style on school life satisfaction. Results: The scores of school life satisfaction, self-esteem, positive and negative coping style of the students were 39.2±6.8, 30.8±4.6, 30.0±6.6, 25.9±6.9, respectively. Scores of school life satisfaction of senior high school students were 38.4±6.4, which were significantly lower than those of junior school students (40.0±7.2, t=43.32, P0.001). Scores of school life satisfaction of students from rural schools were 38.6±6.9, were significantly lower than students from urban key or general schools (39.8±7.6, 39.4±6.3, respectively) (F=12.50, P0.001). High level of self-esteem and positive coping style were protective factors for school life satisfaction, compared with negative coping styles. Conclusions: Self-esteem and coping style are important variables influencing school life satisfaction.