Bienestar Subjetivo de los Adolescentes: Un Estudio Comparativo entre Argentina y Brasil

The aim of this study is to assess and compare the degree of personal well-being of Argentinean and Brazilian adolescents. The sample consists of 640 adolescents of both sexes, aged between 12 and 16 years old, with 46.3% Argentinean and 53.7% Brazilian. Three scales have been used: the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS). The PWI and BMSLSS scores were higher in Argentinean adolescents (MPWI = 82.42 y MBMSLSS = 41.19) than in Brazilians (MPWI = 80.88 y MBMSLSS = 40.09), but the SWLS scores are similar (MSWLS-Arg = 31.50 y MSWLS-Bra = 31.32). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) reveals that the three scales forming a statistical variable as a whole are significantly different by country (p .038) and age (p .024) and their interaction country*age (p .008), but no difference is observed concerning sex (p = .174) and the interaction country*sex (p = .856). Results’ implications are discussed relating well-being considering adolescents’ country, age and sex.