Investigating grade and gender differences in students’ attitudes toward life and well-being

This study explored grade and gender differences of secondary school students’ attitudes toward life and well-being, as well as relationships between these two variables in Taiwan. One thousand and seventy-seven students from seventh to twelfth grades were randomly selected to complete a questionnaire to measure their attitudes toward life and well-being. It was found that the seventh grade students had significantly higher scores on attitudes toward life and well-being than their counterparts. Compared with their male counterparts, female students had significantly higher attitudes toward life scores on the factors of caring for others and clarifying life goals, and on the well-being factors of successful interpersonal communications and satisfaction with personal life. Students’ attitudes toward life were strongly and positively associated with their well-being (r = .90). The structural equation modeling results revealed that students’ attitudes toward life on the subscale of satisfied about one’s performance was the strongest predictor of their well-being (β = .38); that students’ well-being on the subscale of Self-satisfaction was the strongest predictor of their attitudes toward life (β = .50). The above findings provide valuable insights into Taiwanese secondary school students’ grade and gender differences of attitudes toward life and well-being as well as relationships between the two. These might further offer empirical evidences for planning and implementing effective pedagogical strategies or career counseling aimed at increasing students’ positive attitudes toward life and well-being.