A Clustering Study of the Variables Related to Elementary School 5th Graders' Levels of Life Satisfaction*

ABSTRACT Using the second year data of the Korean Child and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS) elementary 4 panel, this study attempted to elucidate variables related to elementary school 5th graders’ life satisfaction and how the variables are clustered in each gender. Analyzing the data of 2378 5th graders (boys 1180, girls 1084) indicated that variables related to their life satisfaction were self-esteem, parenting style, peer attachment, grade satisfaction, and school adjustment. Both boys and girls were clustered into three clusters. The cluster 1 children indicated the highest degrees of self-esteem, peer attachment, grade satisfaction and school adjustment levels, and they perceived parenting style more positively than the children from the other clusters. The cluster 3 children showed the opposite trends to the cluster 1 children in each of the five variables and the cluster 2 showed middle levels in all of the variables. The characteristics of the three clusters were analyzed in terms of the differences of children’s life satisfaction and explanatory variables of life satisfaction.