Life Satisfaction Reports of Adolescents with Learning Disabilities and Normally Achieving Adolescents

Abstract

Reports of life satisfaction, as measured by the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS; Huebner, 1994b) of 80 adolescents diagnosed with a learning disability (LD) were compared to the reports of a matched sample of 80 normally achieving (NA) adolescents. The results provide preliminary psycho-metric support for the use of the MSLSS with adolescents with LD in research contexts. Contrary to studies of other groups of students with mild disabilities, comparisons of mean levels of overall life satisfaction and satisfaction in five specific domains (family, friends, school, self, and living environment) revealed no differences between adolescent students with LD and NA adolescents. Both groups of students reported positive overall and domain-specific life satisfaction levels. Implications for future research and delivery of services to adolescents with LD were discussed.