How happy are Luxembourg teenagers?

Pupils in Luxembourg gave life satisfaction a score of 7.4 out of 10

Backgrounds contribute to Luxembourg teenagers’ life satisfaction and more boys are “very satisfied” with their lives than girls, a new survey has revealed.

During the 2015 PISA report, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) carried out a survey on around 540,000 pupils across 72 countries to find out how satisfied teenagers are with their lives.

Four areas were looked at – school results, pupils’ relationships with their classmates and teachers, their home life and their pastime.

Luxembourg results show a large gap between pupils from well-off households and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

According to the survey, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are less successful and less satisfied with their lives. They are also more anxious during exams, have less sense of belonging and do not feel their parents fully support them.

Most teenagers taking part in the survey said they are satisfied with their lives and gave a score of 7.3 out of 10. Pupils in Luxembourg gave life satisfaction a score of 7.4, just short of the score of 7.6 given by pupils in France.

A total of 36.1% of 15-year-olds surveyed in Luxembourg said they were “very satisfied” – a figure which is higher than the OECD average of 34.1%. But while only 29% of girls said they were very satisfied, 39% of boys agreed.

The percentage of teenagers who said they had been victims of intimidation or violence at least twice within one month was lower in Luxembourg than the OECD average, with only 15.7% of pupils saying they had experienced this type of harassment or violence, while the OECD average was 18.7%.

Girls said they had to fight against gossip or bad rumours and the survey showed these incidents applied mainly to pupils with immigration backgrounds or those experiencing academic difficulties.