Exploring the Types and Predictors of Changes in Life Satisfaction in Immigrant Upper-grade Elementary School Students Using Latent Class Growth Models

The purpose of this study is to examine longitudinal patterns of life satisfaction among immigrant upper-grade elementary school students and to identify factors that influence these patterns, categorized into individual, family, and social factors. To analyze the main research questions, a latent class growth model analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis were conducted. First, three trajectory types of life satisfaction among middle-entry adolescents were identified: a low-level increasing group (7.7%), a mid-level stable group (53.2%), and a high-level group (39.1%). Second, an analysis of factors predicting the latent class classification of life satisfaction trajectories indicated that students with lower levels of bicultural acceptance and higher cultural adaptation stress were more likely to belong to the low-level increasing group. Conversely, those with lower levels of cultural adaptation stress and higher levels of parental and teacher support were more likely to be in the high-level group. Based on these findings, educational implications were discussed.