The Role of Hope and Self-Esteem in the Relation between Economic Pressure and Life Satisfaction of Adolescents

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine whether hope and self-
-esteem are moderators and/or mediators in the relation
between perceived economic pressure and life satisfaction of
adolescents. The study included 348 children (219 girls),
mean age 15 years, from seven primary and four secondary
schools located in the city of Zagreb and its surroundings.
Perceived economic pressure was assessed using the eight
economic strain items of the Responses to Stress
Questionnaire (Wadsworth & Compas, 2002), hope was
measured with the Children's Hope Scale (Snyder et al.,
1997), self-esteem was measured with the short version of
the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg et al., 1989),
and life satisfaction was measured with the Brief
Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (Selingson
et al., 2003). The results show that self-esteem is not a
moderator, but a partial mediator in the relation between
economic pressure and life satisfaction of girls. Similarly,
hope was a partial mediator, and not a moderator in the
relation between economic pressure and life satisfaction of
boys and girls. The findings of this study show that part of
the negative impact of economic pressure on adolescent life
satisfaction can be explained by the adverse effect of
economic pressure on self-esteem and hope among
adolescents, i.e. by reducing self-esteem and hope.