The relationship between primary human needs of the Good Lives Model (GLM) and subjective well-being in adolescents: A multi-level meta-analysis

A recent offender rehabilitation theory, the 'Good Lives Model' (GLM), states that effective interventions should not only focus on risk factors, but also on improving well-being by meeting a universal set of human needs, such as relatedness with friends and family, inner peace and excellence in agency, called 'primary goods'. Little empirical research however exists examining the GLM's underlying etiological assumptions, especially for youngsters. Due to their developmental phase, adolescents may have different needs or they may prioritize them differently compared to adults. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of the existing literature on adolescent well-being. A multi-level meta-analysis was conducted to assess the extent to which the 11 GLM primary goods are related to overall subjective well-being in adolescents. We systematically searched databases for terms related to well-being and adolescence, resulting in 139 publications included in the meta-analysis. Almost all of the GLM primary goods were related to subjective well-being in adolescents. Some goods however may be more salient or manifest themselves differently in this particular development phase. Offender rehabilitation interventions should carefully assess which primary goods are important for the youngster, how they (try to) achieve them and in which way the goods are related to their delinquent behavior.