The purpose of the current study was to investigate the causal relationship between school life adjustment and life satisfaction among adolescents through longitudinal panel data. The current study analyzed the 1st through 7th wave data in the 4th grade panel of elementary school from the Korea Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS). The research model was tested using auto-regressive cross-lagged model. The major results were as follows. First, adolescents’ school life adjustment had a positive auto-regressive effect. Second, adolescents’ life satisfaction had a positive auto-regressive effect. Third, adolescents’ school life adjustment was a causal predictor of life satisfaction, but not vice versa. Finally, implications in terms of enhancing adolescents’ school life adjustment and life satisfaction were also discussed.

Adolescents, School life adjustment, Life satisfaction, KCYPS, Auto-regressive cross-lagged model