The whole-school ecosystem approach for promoting health and satisfaction with life among adolescents

Young people’s well-being and life satisfaction are influenced by their interaction with the various environmental contexts in which they are embedded as they grow older, namely social, and interpersonal environments constituted by family, peers, school, and local community. As such, health promotion among youngsters cannot be disassociated from their most usual environment, and this is firmly advocated in the whole-school approach to health promotion. This chapter reflects upon the association between physical, social, and affective environmental variables and life satisfaction and health perception of adolescents. A case study from Portugal within the framework of an international World Health Organization monitoring program of youngsters’ health and health behaviors is used to establish the relevance of environmental variables broadly considered. Available evidence supports the role of a whole-school ecosystem approach to health promotion in contributing to positive health and well-being outcomes among adolescents. This is relevant information for supporting decision-making in education and health.