KARAKTERISTIKE OBITELJSKOG OKRUŽENJA I ZADOVOLJSTVO OBITELJSKIM ŽIVOTOM IZ PERSPEKTIVE ADOLESCENATA

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FAMILY AND ADOLESCENTS’ FAMILY LIFE SATISFACTION ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to determine adolescents’ family life satisfaction and to investigate whether there are differences in adolescents’ family life satisfaction depending on the personal characteristics of the study participants (gender, age) and family characteristics (family structure, education and employment of parents). The study involved 10,138 students from all grades of high schools from five major Croatian cities: Zagreb, Osijek, Split, Pula, and Varaždin. The quota sample was stratified with respect to three Croatian secondary school programs, three- and four-year vocational schools and grammar schools, and individual orientations within each of the schools. In the total sample, 47.5% were young men (N = 4,595) and the mean age was Mage = 16.2 (SDage = 1.16). Of the total number of participants, 4.5% (N = 456) did not report their gender. The results show that there are differences in adolescents’ family life satisfaction in terms of gender, age, living with both parents or one parent, and parents’ educational and work status. The results point to the need for a timely implementation of effective parenting skills programs and preventive interventions aimed at the family or parents, considering the gender of adolescents. Low levels of parental education and unemployment are associated with lower levels of adolescents’ satisfaction with their family life. Systematic investments through national policies and programs that increase opportunities for (lifelong) education and employment for parents seem to be important for investing in the quality of the family environment. Key words: adolescents; family life satisfaction; family environment