The present study explores gender differences in adolescence with regard to meaning in life and self-control skills and in relation to positive and negative affect. Participants were 500 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 16 years. Outcomes revealed that females reported higher negative affect and self-control skills in comparison with males. Moreover, the association between self-control skills and negative affect was stronger among females than among males. In contrast to our assumptions, positive affect was not found to be higher among females although females scored higher in meaning in life than their male counterparts. In addition, self-control skills mediated the association between meaning in life and negative affect, and gender moderated the association between self-control skills and negative affect only among females. Considering these findings, gender seems to be vital in explaining differences in the use of self-control skills and meaning in life and their links to positive and negative affect.
AikenL. S.WestS. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
2.
AnicP.TončićM. (2013). Orientations to happiness, subjective well-being and life goals. Psihologijske Teme, 22, 135-153.
3.
BalkD. E.ZaengleD.CorrC. A. (2011). Strengthening grief support for adolescents coping with a peer’s death. School Psychology International, 32, 144-162. doi:10.1177/0143034311400826
4.
Bar-TurL.EyalN.ShmotkinD. (2004). Hebrew version of Ryff’s questionnaire of psychological well-being. Tel Aviv, Israel: Tel Aviv University.
5.
BaumeisterR. F.BratslavskyE.MuravenM.TiceD. M. (1998). Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1252-1265. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1252
6.
Ben-ZurH. (2003). Happy adolescents: The link between subjective well-being, internal resources, and parental factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32, 67-79. doi:10.1023/A:1021864432505
7.
BiseggerC.CloettaB.von BiseggerU.AbelT.Ravens-SiebererU. (2005). Health-related quality of life: Gender differences in childhood and adolescence. Sozial- und Präventivmedizin, 50, 281-291. doi:10.1007/s00038-005-4094-2
8.
BlakemoreS. J. (2008). The social brain in adolescence. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9, 267-277.
9.
BowlinS. L.BaerR. A. (2012). Relationships between mindfulness, self-control, and psychological functioning. Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 411-415. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.10.050
10.
BrassaiL.PikoB. F.StegerM. F. (2011). Meaning in life: Is it a protective factor for adolescents’ psychological health?International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 18, 44-51. doi:10.1007/s12529-010-9089-6
11.
BrdarI.RijavecM.MiljkovićD. (2009). Life goals and well-being: Are extrinsic aspirations always detrimental to well-being?Psihologijske Teme, 18, 317-334. doi:159.9.019.3.072.2
12.
BrodyL. R.HallJ. A. (2008). Gender and emotion in context. In LewisM.Haviland-JonesJ. M.BarrettL. F. (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (3rd ed., pp. 395-408). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
13.
BrodyL. R.HallJ. A. (2010). Gender, emotion, and socialization. In ChrislerJ. C.McCrearyD. R. (Eds.), Handbook of gender research in psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 429-454). New York, NY: Springer.
14.
BrouzosA.VassilopoulosS. P.BoumpouliC. (2016). Adolescent’s subjective and psychological well-being: The role of meaning in life. Hellenic Journal of Psychology, 13, 153-169.
15.
BurrowA. L.HillP. L. (2011). Purpose as a form of identity capital for positive youth adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 47, 1196-1206.
16.
BusseriM. A.ChomaB. L.SadavaS. W. (2012). Subjective temporal trajectories for subjective well-being. Journal of Positive Psychology, 7, 1-15. doi:10.1080/17439760.2011.565784
17.
CapraraG. V.EisenbergN.AlessandriG. J. (2017). Positivity: The dispositional basis of happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 18, 353-371. doi:10.1007/s10902-016-9728-y
18.
CarliV.HovenC. W.WassermanC.ChiesaF.GuffantiG.SarchiaponeM.. . . WassermanD. (2014). A newly identified group of adolescents at “invisible” risk for psychopathology and suicidal behavior: Findings from the SEYLE study. World Psychiatry: Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 13, 78-86.
19.
CaseyB. J.JonesR. M.LevitaL.LibbyV.PattwellS. S.RuberryE. J.. . . SomervilleL. H. (2010). The storm and stress of adolescence: Insights from human imaging and mouse genetics. Developmental Psychobiology, 52, 225-235.
20.
ChaplinT. M. (2015). Gender and emotion expression: A developmental contextual perspective. Emotion Review: Journal of the International Society for Research on Emotion, 7, 14-21. doi:10.1177/1754073914544408
21.
ChaplinT. M.AldaoA. (2013). Gender differences in emotion expression in children: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 139, 735-765.
22.
ChappleC. L.VaskeJ.HopeT. L. (2010). Sex differences in the causes of self-control: An examination of mediation, moderation, and gendered etiologies. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 1122-1131.
23.
CheungT.GillebaartM.KroeseF.De RidderD. (2014). Why are people with high self-control happier? The effect of trait self-control on happiness as mediated by regulatory focus. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, Article 722. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00722
24.
ChooC. C.HarrisK. M.HoR. C. (2017). Prediction of lethality in suicide attempts: Gender matters. OMEGA —Journal of Death and Dying, 80, 87-103. doi:10.1177/0030222817725182
25.
CohenK.CairnsD. (2011). Is searching for meaning in life associated with reduced subjective well-being? Confirmation and possible moderators. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13, 313-331. doi:10.1007/s10902-011-9265-7
26.
DesmondS. A.BruceA. S.StacerM. J. (2012). Self-control, opportunity, and substance use. Deviant Behavior, 33, 425-447. doi:10.1080/01639625.2011.584055
27.
DienerE. (2009). The science of well-being: Reviews and theoretical. Social Indicators Research, 37, 11-58.
28.
EmmonsR.CheungC.TehraniK. (1998). Assessing spirituality through personal goals: Implications for research in religion and subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research, 45, 391-422. doi:10.1023/A:1006926720976
29.
EriksonE. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
30.
EriksonE. H. (1982). The life cycle completed. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
31.
FloodM.BoydM. (2008). Successful aging in a southern older adult sample. Southern Online Journal of Nursing Research, 8(3). Retrieved from https://www.snrs.org/health-promotion
32.
FredricksonB. L. (1998). What good are positive emotions?Review of General Psychology, 2, 300-319. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.300
33.
FredricksonB. L. (2009). Positivity. New York, NY: Crown.
34.
FredricksonB. L.CohnM. A.CoffeyK. A.PekJ.FinkelS. M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1045-1062. doi:10.1037/a0013262
35.
FredricksonB. L.TugadeM. M.WaughC. E.LarkinG. R. (2003). What good are positive emotions in crisis? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 365-376. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.365
36.
GallaherT.Seiffge-KrenkeI.BorgeA.CicognaniE.CunhaM.LoncaricD.. . . Winkler-MetzkeC. (2007). Adolescent coping with everyday stressors: A seven-nation study of youth from central, eastern, southern and northern Europe. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 4, 129-156.
37.
García-AlandeteJ. (2015). Does meaning in life predict psychological well-being? An analysis using the Spanish versions of the purpose-in-life test and the Ryff’s scales. The European Journal of Counselling Psychology, 3, 89-98.
38.
García-AlandeteJGallego Hernández de TejadaB.Pérez RodríguezS.Marco-SalvadorJ. H. (2019). Meaning in life among adolescents: Factorial invariance of the purpose in life test and buffering effect on the relationship between emotional dysregulation and hopelessness. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 26, 24-34. doi:10.1002/cpp.2327
39.
Gavriel-FriedB.RonenT.AgbariaQ.OrkibiH.HamamaL. (2015). Multiple facets of self-control in Arab adolescents: Parallel pathways to greater happiness and less physical aggression. Youth & Society, 50, 405-422. doi:10.1177/0044118X15606157
40.
GilbertD. (2005). Stumbling on happiness. New York, NY: Vintage Books.
41.
GilmanR.HuebnerE. S.LaughlinJ. E. (2000). A first study of the multidimensional students’ life satisfaction scale with adolescents. Social Indicators Research, 52, 135-160. doi:10.1023/A:1007059227507
42.
GoldbeckL.SchmitzT. G.NesierT.HerschbachP.HenrichG. (2007). Life satisfaction decreases during adolescence. Quality of Life Research, 16, 969-979. doi:10.1007/s11136-007-9205-5
43.
González-CarrascoM.CasasF.MaloS.VinasF.DinismanT. (2017). Changes with age in subjective well-being through the adolescent years: Differences by gender. Journal of Happiness Studies, 18, 63-88. doi:10.1007/s10902-016-9717-1
44.
HaggerM. S. (2013). The multiple pathways by which self-control predicts behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, Article 849. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00849
45.
HalamaP. (2014). Meaning in life and coping: Sense of meaning as a buffer against stress. In BatthyanyA.Russo-NetzerP. (Eds.), Meaning in positive and existential psychology (pp. 239-250). New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-0308-5_14
46.
HamamaL.RonenT.ScharK.RosenbaumM. (2013). Links between stress, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction among teachers in special education schools. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14, 731-751. doi:10.1007/s10902-012-9352-4
47.
HayesA. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
48.
HeintzelmanS. J.KingL. A. (2014a). (The feeling of) meaning- as- information. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 18, 153-167. doi:10.1177/1088868313518487
49.
HeintzelmanS. J.KingL. A. (2014b). Life is pretty meaningful. American Psychologist, 69, 561-574. doi:10.1037/a0035049
50.
HelsenM.VollebergW.MeeusW. (2000). Social support from parents and friends and emotional problems in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29, 319-335. doi:10.1023/A:1005147708827
51.
HillJ. P.LynchM. E. (1983). The intensification of gender-related role expectations during early adolescence. In Brooks-GunnJ.PetersenA. (Eds.), Girls at puberty: Biological and psychosocial perspectives (pp. 201-228). New York, NY: Plenum Press.
52.
HoM. Y.CheungF. M.CheungS. F. (2010). The role of meaning in life and optimism in promoting wellbeing. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 658-663.
53.
HobfollS. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nest-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50, 337-421.
54.
HobfollS. E.HalbeslebenJ.NeveuJ.-P.WestmanM. (2018). Conservation of resources in the organizational context: The reality of resources and their consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5, 103-128. doi:10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032117-104640
55.
HowellA. J.PassmoreH.BuroK. (2013). Meaning in nature: Meaning in life as a mediator of the relationship between nature connectedness and well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14, 1681-1696. doi:10.1007/s10902-012-9403x
56.
JoY.BouffardL. (2014). Stability of self-control and gender. Journal of Criminal Justice, 42, 356-365. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2014.05.001
57.
JuricaJ.BarenzJ.ShimY.GrahamK.StegerM. F. (2014). Ultimate concerns from existential and positive psychological perspectives. In BatthyanyA.Russo-NetzerP. (Eds.), Meaning in positive and existential psychology (pp. 115-128). New York, NY: Springer.
58.
KailR. V.CavanaughJ. C. (2007). Human development: A life-span view (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
59.
KingL. A.HicksJ. A.KrullJ.Del GaisoA. K. (2006). Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 179-196. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.90.1.179
60.
KoshyS. I.MarianoJ. M. (2011). Promoting youth purpose: A review of the literature. New Directions for Youth Development, 2011, 13-29. doi:10.1002/yd.425
61.
KosmopoulosA. (2000). Childhood and adolescence psychology and guidance (4th ed.). Athens, Greece: Grigoris Publications. (in Greek)
62.
LaurentJ.CatanzaroS. J.JoinerT. E.RudolphK. D.PotterK. I.LambertS.. . . GathrightT. (1999). A measure of positive and negative affect for children: Scale development and preliminary validation. Psychological Assessment, 11, 326-338. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.11.3.326
63.
LiJ. B.SalcuniS.DelvecchioE. (2019). Meaning in life, self-control and psychological distress among adolescents: A cross-national study. Psychiatry Research, 272, 122-129.
64.
LunguO.PotvinS.TikàszA.MendrekA. (2015). Sex differences in effective fronto-limbic connectivity during negative emotion processing. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 62, 180-188. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.08.012
65.
LuzJ. M. O.MurtaS. G.de AquinoT. A. A. (2017). Intervention for promoting meaning in life in adolescents: Evaluation of the process and results. Trends in Psychology, 25, 1795-1811. doi:10.9788/tp2017.4-14pt
66.
MacKenzieM. J.BaumeisterR. F. (2014). Meaning in life: Nature, needs, and myths. In BatthyanyA.Russo-NetzerP. (Eds.), Meaning in positive and existential psychology (pp. 25-37). New York, NY: Springer.
67.
MakK. K.PangJ. S.LaiC. M.HoR. C. (2013). Body esteem in Chinese adolescents: Effect of gender, age, and weight. Journal of Health Psychology, 18, 46-54. doi:10.1177/1359105312437264
68.
MiaoM.ZhengL.GanY. (2017). Meaning in life promotes proactive coping via positive affect: A daily diary study. Journal of Happiness Studies, 18, 1683-1696. doi:10.1007/s10902-016-9791-4
69.
Nolen-HoeksemaS. (2012). Emotion regulation and psychopathology: The role of gender. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 8, 161-187. doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032511-143109
70.
OrkibiH.HamamaL.Gavriel-FriedB.RonenT. (2015). Pathways to adolescents’ flourishing: Linking self-control skills and positivity ratio through social support. Youth & Society, 50, 3-25. doi:10.1177/0044118x15581171
71.
OrkibiH.RonenT. (2017). Basic psychological needs satisfaction mediates the association between self-control skills and subjective well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, Article 936. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00936
72.
PanJ.WongD. F. K.ChanC. L. W.JoubertL. (2008). Meaning of life as a protective factor of positive affect in acculturation: A resilience framework and a cross-cultural comparison. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32, 505-514. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2008.08.002
73.
PreacherK. J. (2002). Calculation for the test of the difference between two independent correlation coefficients [Computer software]. Retrieved from http://quantpsy.org
74.
ReschlyA.HuebnerE. S.AppletonJ. J.AntaramianS. (2008). Engagement as flourishing: The contribution of positive emotions and coping to adolescents’ engagement at school and with learning. Psychology in the Schools, 45, 419-431. doi:10.1002/pits.20306
75.
RonenT. (2003). Cognitive constructivist psychotherapy with children and adolescence. New York, NY: Kluwer/Plenum.
76.
RonenT.AbuelaishI.RosenbaumM.AgbariaQ.HamamaL. (2013). Predictors of aggression among Palestinians in Israel and Gaza: Happiness, need to belong, and self-control. Children and Youth Services Review, 35, 47-55. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.10.015
77.
RonenT.HamamaL.RosenbaumM.Mishely-YarlapA. (2014). Subjective wellbeing in adolescence: The role of self-control, social support, age, gender, and familial crisis.’Journal of Happiness Studies, 17, 81-104. doi:10.1007/s10902-014-9585-5
78.
RonenT.RosenbaumM. (2001). Helping children to help themselves: A case study of enuresis and nail biting. Research on Social Work Practice, 11, 338-356.
79.
RonenT.RosenbaumM. (2010). Developing learned resourcefulness in adolescents to help them reduce their aggressive behavior: Preliminary findings. Research on Social Work Practice, 20, 410-426. doi:10.1177/1049731509331875
80.
RonenT.SeemanA. (2007). Subjective well-being of adolescents in boarding schools under threat of war. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 20, 1053-1062. doi:10.1002/jts.20248
81.
RosenbaumM. (1980). A schedule for assessing self-control behavior: Preliminary findings. Behavior Therapy, 11, 109-121. doi:10.1016/S0005-7894(80)80040-2
82.
RosenbaumM. (1998). Opening versus closing strategies in controlling one’s responses to experience. In KoftaM.WearyG.SedekG. (Eds.), Personal control in action: Cognitive & motivational mechanisms (pp. 61-84). New York, NY: Plenum Press.
83.
RosenbaumM. (2000). The self-regulation of experience: Openness and construction. In DeweP.LeiterA. M.CoxT. (Eds.), Coping and health and organizations (pp. 51-67). London, England: Taylor & Francis.
84.
RosenbaumM.RonenT. (1991, November). Development of a rating scale for assessment of Children’s Self-Control skills (CSC). Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New York.
85.
RosenbaumM.RonenT. (2013). Emotional well-being and self-control skills of children and adolescents: The Israeli perspective. In KeyesC. L. M. (Ed.), Mental well-being: International contributions to the study of positive mental health (pp. 209-229). New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-5195-8_10
86.
RosenbaumM.RonenT.AbuelaishI.OrkibiH.HamamaL. (2018). Positivity ratio links self-control skills to physical aggression and happiness in young Palestinians living in Gaza. Young, 26(4 suppl), 78S-95S. doi:10.1177/1103308817743371
87.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141-166.
88.
RyffC. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069-1081. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069
89.
RyffC. D. (1995). Psychological well-being in adult life. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4, 99-104.
90.
Seiffge-KrenkeI. (2013). Stress, coping, and relationships in adolescence. New York, NY: Psychology Press.
91.
ShekarkharZ.GibsonC. L. (2011). Gender, self-control, and offending behaviors among Latino youth. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 27, 63-80. doi:10.1177/1043986211402224
92.
ShroutP. E.BolgerN. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7, 422-445.
93.
ShulmanE. P.HardenK. P.CheinJ. M.SteinbergL. (2015). Sex differences in the developmental trajectories of impulse control and sensation-seeking from early adolescence to early adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 1-17.
94.
SilversJ. A.McRaeK.GabrieliJ. D. E.GrossJ. J.RemyK. A.OchsnerK. N. (2012). Age-related differences in emotional reactivity, regulation, and rejection sensitivity in adolescence. Emotion, 12, 1235-1247. doi:10.1037/a0028297
95.
SpearL. P. (2000). The adolescent brain and age-related behavioral manifestations. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 24, 417-463.
96.
StavrovaO.PronkT.KokkorisM. D. (2018). Finding meaning in self-control: The effect of self-control on the perception of meaning in life. Self and Identity, 19(2), 201-218. doi:10.1080/15298868.2018.1558107
97.
StegerM.BundickM.YeagerD. S. (2012). The development of meaning during adolescence. In LevesqueR. J. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of adolescence. New York, NY: Springer.
98.
StegerM. F. (2009). Meaning in life. In LopezS. J. (Ed.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 679-687). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
99.
SteinbergL. D. (2005). Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends in Cognitive Science, 9, 69-74. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2004.12.005
100.
SteinbergL. D. (2007). Adolescence (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
101.
SteinbergL. D. (2013). Does recent research on adolescent brain development inform the mature minor doctrine?The Journal of Medicine & Philosophy, 38, 256-267.
102.
SteinbergL. D.AlbertD.CauffmanE.BanichM.GrahamS.WoolardJ. (2008). Age differences in sensation seeking and impulsivity as indexed by behavior and self-report: Evidence for a dual systems model. Developmental Psychology, 44, 1764-1778. doi:10.1037/a0012955
103.
SunX.ChanD. W.ChanL. K. (2016). Self-compassion and psychological well-being among adolescents in Hong Kong: Exploring gender differences. Personality and Individual Differences, 101, 288-292. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.06.011
104.
TheurelA.GentazE. (2018). The regulation of emotions in adolescents: Age differences and emotion-specific patterns. PLoS ONE, 13(6), e0195501. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0195501
105.
ThoitsP. A. (2012). Role-identity salience, purpose and meaning in life, and well-being among volunteers. Social Psychology Quarterly, 75, 360-384. doi:10.1177/0190272512459662
106.
TiceD. M.BaumeisterR.ShmueliD.MuravenM. (2007). Restoring the self: Positive affect helps improve self-regulation following ego depletion. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 379-384.
107.
Vazeou-NieuwenhuisA.OrehekE.ScheierM. F. (2017). The meaning of action: Do self-regulatory processes contribute to a purposeful life?Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 115-122. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2017.04.040
108.
WatsonD.ClarkL. A.TellegenA. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063-1070.
109.
WillsT. A.GibbonsF. X.SargentJ. D.GerrardM.LeeH.-R.Dal CinS. (2010). Good self-control moderates the effect of mass media on adolescent tobacco and alcohol use: Tests with studies of children and adolescents. Health Psychology, 29, 539-549. doi:10.1037/a0020818
110.
WongP. T. P. (1989). Personal meaning and successful aging. Canadian Psychology, 30, 516-525.
111.
WongP. T. P. (1997). Meaning-centered counseling: A cognitive-behavioral approach to logotherapy. The International Forum for Logotherapy, 20, 85-94.
XiJ.LeeM. T.CarterJ. R.DelgadoD. (2018). Gender differences in purpose in life: The mediation effect of altruism. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. doi:10.1177/0022167818777658
114.
ŽukauskienėR. (2014). Adolescence and well-being. In Ben-AriehA.CasasF.FrønesI.KorbinJ. (Eds.), Handbook of child well-being (pp. 1713-1738). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
