The Role of Hope and Self-Esteem in the Relation between Economic Pressure and Life Satisfaction of Adolescents

The aim of this study was to examine whether hope and self-esteem are moderators and/or mediators in the relation between perceived economic pressure and life satisfaction of adolescents. The study included 348 children (219 girls), mean age 15 years, from seven primary and four secondary schools located in the city of Zagreb and its surroundings. Perceived economic pressure was assessed using the eight economic strain items of the Responses to Stress Questionnaire (Wadsworth & 107 Compas, 2002), hope was measured with the Children's Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1997), self-esteem was measured with the short version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg et al., 1989), and life satisfaction was measured with the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (Selingson et al., 2003). The results show that self-esteem is not a moderator, but a partial mediator in the relation between economic pressure and life satisfaction of girls. Similarly, hope was a partial mediator, and not a moderator in the relation between economic pressure and life satisfaction of boys and girls. The findings of this study show that part of the negative impact of economic pressure on adolescent life satisfaction can be explained by the adverse effect of economic pressure on self-esteem and hope among adolescents, i.e. by reducing self-esteem and hope.