Comparison of hope and life satisfaction levels of Turkish and American middle school students

Abstract

Purpose: In the literature, it has been stated that hope and life satisfaction in childhood and adolescence are associated with cultural and social factors. This study aimed to discover whether Turkish and American adolescents differ in their life satisfaction and hope levels, by examining hope and life satisfaction in Turkish and American adolescents according to variables such as gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and parental attitudes. Research Methods: In the study, a descriptive research design was employed during the data collection and analysis phases. Findings: According to the first findings of the research, there was a significant difference between the life satisfaction of Turkish students and that of American students in favor of the Turkish students, whereas their hope levels did not vary significantly. In addition, the life satisfaction and hope levels of students from both countries did not differ according to gender. Another finding of the study was that the hope level of Turkish students with high socioeconomic status (SES) was higher than that of those with medium and low SES. The results indicated that parental attitudes did not differ significantly regarding the hope and life satisfaction levels of Turkish students, whereas there were significant differences both in the hope and life satisfaction levels of American students regarding parental attitudes. Implications for Research and Practice: The study did not find any difference between the hope levels of Turkish and American students, whereas it observed that the life satisfaction of Turkish students was higher than that of the American students. This finding can be explained, as adolescence problems are universal and are given high importance in every culture. © 2018 Ani Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.