Stressor experience negatively affects life satisfaction in adolescents: the positive role of sense of coherence Unni K. Moksnes 1,2 • G. Haugan 1,2 Accepted: 26 March 2015 Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 Abstract Purpose The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between different normative stressors, sense of coherence and life satisfaction separately for gender in Norwegian adolescents. The interaction effect of stress by sense of coherence in relation to life satisfaction was also investigated. Methods The data are based on a cross-sectional sample of 1239 adolescents (13–18 years) from public elementary and secondary schools in Central Norway. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the as- sociation between stressors, sense of coherence and life satisfaction, separately for gender. Results The results showed significant differences be- tween genders, where boys reported higher scores than girls on sense of coherence and life satisfaction, whereas girls scored higher than boys on five of seven stressor domains. All stressors were significantly and inversely associated with life satisfaction in both genders; however, all associations were stronger for girls compared to boys. Sense of coherence showed a significant strong and posi- tive association with life satisfaction, controlled for age and each individual stressor. A significant although weak interaction effect of stress related to romantic relationships by sense of coherence was found in association with life satisfaction for boys; the other interaction effects were nonsignificant in both genders. Conclusion The results give support for a significant unique role of stressor experience and sense of coherence in relation to life satisfaction in both genders during ado- lescence, where the associations were especially strong in girls. Keywords Subjective well-being  Quality of life  Youth  Life events  Stressors Introduction Adolescence is a developmental phase characterized by significant changes and challenges in virtually every aspect of an individual’s life, calling for new psychological adaptations [1, 2]. This period of life generates varying amounts of potential stressors such as changes in respon- sibilities, higher school demands and challenges in inter- personal relationships (peers and family) [3, 4]. The present study focuses on adolescents’ perceived stress. In line with the transactional view, stress is the condition that results when person–environment transactions lead the in- dividual to perceive a discrepancy—whether real or not— between the demands of a situation and the resources of the person to cope adequately [5]. Stressors signify situations and pressures that cause stress [6]. Normative stressors refer to events that are experienced by most adolescents, usually within a relatively predictable timescale. Examples of these include pubertal development, psychosocial changes related to school, family, peers and academic de- mands [4]. Although exposure to normative stressors is considered a normal part of development, especially in- terpersonal stressors (e.g., peers, family, romantic rela- tionships) represent a potential threat to adolescents’ well- being and healthy development [7]. An increase in stress is & Unni K. Moksnes unni.k.moksnes@hist.no 1 Center for Health Promotion Research, Trondheim, Norway 2 Faculty of Nursing, Sør-Trøndelag University College, Trondheim, Norway 123 Qual Life Res DOI 10.1007/s11136-015-0977-8