Persistent social inequality in low life satisfaction among adolescents in Denmark 2002–2018

Purpose: The aims were to examine social inequality in low life satisfaction among Danish adolescents and whether the social inequality changes over time. Methods: The study population was 20,328 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds from the Danish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 with data about life satisfaction and occupational social class (OSC). Low life satisfaction was defined as values under 6 on the Cantril Ladder. Results: The proportion with low life satisfaction was 10.5% in high, 11.7% in medium and 14.7% in low OSC (chi²-test, p < 0.0001). The OR (95% CI) for low life satisfaction was 1.25 (1.13–1.39) in medium and 1.62 (1.43–1.83) in low compared to high OSC. There was no upwards or downwards trend in low life satisfaction over time and the absolute and relative social inequality in low life satisfaction did not change from 2002 to 2018. Conclusion: The study shows that the political ambition on reducing social inequality in health and wellbeing has not been met in relation to low life satisfaction among Danish adolescents.