Household food-related social transfers and self-reported life satisfaction among adolescent girls aged 15–17 in Bangladesh

The subjective well-being of adolescent girls is an important concern in public health and social science research worldwide. Food-related social protection programmes are primarily aimed at addressing household food insecurity, and while these interventions have been widely studied, evidence on their impact on adolescent well-being remains limited. This study examines the association between household receipt of food-related social transfers and self-reported life satisfaction among adolescent girls aged 15-17 years in Bangladesh, adjusting for key sociodemographic characteristics, guided by the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework. This research utilised the nationally representative secondary data from the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019, with a final sample of 6,678 adolescent girls. Life satisfaction was measured using the Cantril Ladder scale (0–10) and analysed as both a continuous and a binary variable. Two primary exposure variables were defined as household receipt of food-related social transfers and the timing of receipt. Analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, complex-sample linear regression, and logistic regression, incorporating the stratified cluster design and sampling weights from the survey. Sensitivity analyses, subgroup comparisons, and interaction effects were conducted to determine the strength of the findings. Study findings indicate that adolescent girls had a moderate level of life satisfaction, with a mean score of 6.1 (SD = 2.38, SE = 0.036, 95% CI: 6.03–6.16). Overall, 13.1% of households received food-related social transfers, and 54.4% of adolescent girls reported high life satisfaction (Cantril Ladder score of 6–10). Life satisfaction among girls in households receiving food-related social transfers was not statistically significant in either regression analysis (continuous model: B = 0.175, 95% CI: -0.023 to 0.373, p = 0.083; binary model: OR = 1.062, 95% CI: 0.889–1.268, p = 0.506), including those that considered the timing of receipt. As this study was cross-sectional, these findings indicate no significant association between household food-related social transfers and the self-reported life satisfaction of adolescent girls, rather than evidence that food transfers reduce or improve life satisfaction. Rather, the factors that affect the issue are more structural and socio-economic in nature. This study emphasises that complex social protection mechanisms must be implemented to enhance the well-being of adolescents in Bangladesh through the effective integration of food, education, economic support, and psychosocial support.