Perceived Stress and Life Satisfaction: A Multiple Mediation Model of Self-control and Rumination

Previous research has documented that perceived stress is negatively associated with adolescent life satisfaction. However, the mediating mechanisms underlying this relation are largely unknown. The present study tested whether self-control and rumination mediate the link between perceived stress and adolescents’ lower life satisfaction. A sample of 1196 senior high school students (ages 13–19, 54% boys) completed questionnaires regarding demographics, perceived stress, self-control, rumination and life satisfaction. After controlling for gender, the results indicated that: (a) perceived stress was negatively associated with life satisfaction; (b) both self-control and rumination partially mediated the link between perceived stress and life satisfaction in a parallel pattern; and (c) self-control and rumination also sequentially mediated the relation between perceived stress and life satisfaction. The current study advances our understanding of how perceived stress might lead to poor life satisfaction. Furthermore, the multiple mediation analysis reveals that self-control and rumination can not only in parallel, but also sequentially mediate the relation between perceived stress and life satisfaction.