Life Satisfaction in Employed Mothers of Children with Disabilities: The Importance of Personal, Family, Work, and Society Characteristics

The aim of this study was to determine the separate and joint contribution of individual, family, occupational, and social factors in explaining the life satisfaction of working mothers of children with developmental disabilities. Working mothers of children with disabilities participated in this st...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Matilda Nikolić Ivanišević, Ana Slišković, Jelena Ombla, Andrea Tokić, Theresa Brown
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-07-01
Series:Societies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/13/8/177
_version_ 1797583209394864128
author Matilda Nikolić Ivanišević
Ana Slišković
Jelena Ombla
Andrea Tokić
Theresa Brown
author_facet Matilda Nikolić Ivanišević
Ana Slišković
Jelena Ombla
Andrea Tokić
Theresa Brown
author_sort Matilda Nikolić Ivanišević
collection DOAJ
description The aim of this study was to determine the separate and joint contribution of individual, family, occupational, and social factors in explaining the life satisfaction of working mothers of children with developmental disabilities. Working mothers of children with disabilities participated in this study (N = 508). They completed an online questionnaire to measure factors from personal (optimism and personal strength), family (satisfaction with family finances, parental stress, number of children, and support from family members related to work), work (job demands, control, and support) and society domain (satisfaction with the healthcare, educational and welfare system). All of them were employed (at least part-time) but also, they all had at least one child with disabilities under 19 years of age whose degree of disability was officially determined. Regression analysis indicated that factors from personal, family (satisfaction with family finances, parental stress, and support from family members related to work), and societal domain (satisfaction with the healthcare system) predicted mothers’ life satisfaction. Work-related variables did not. A comprehensive approach is very useful in studying the well-being of parents of children with disabilities. Future studies should also include fathers, as it is reasonable to assume that mothers and fathers differ in the influence of certain factors on their well-being. Considering the sample size and bias, these results have significant limitations in terms of generalizability.
first_indexed 2024-03-10T23:35:37Z
format Article
id doaj.art-67f9b576eaf94ac1a1b5fe7c0d929f13
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2075-4698
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-10T23:35:37Z
publishDate 2023-07-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Societies
spelling doaj.art-67f9b576eaf94ac1a1b5fe7c0d929f132023-11-19T03:00:42ZengMDPI AGSocieties2075-46982023-07-0113817710.3390/soc13080177Life Satisfaction in Employed Mothers of Children with Disabilities: The Importance of Personal, Family, Work, and Society CharacteristicsMatilda Nikolić Ivanišević0Ana Slišković1Jelena Ombla2Andrea Tokić3Theresa Brown4Department of Psychology, University of Zadar, 23000 Zadar, CroatiaDepartment of Psychology, University of Zadar, 23000 Zadar, CroatiaDepartment of Psychology, University of Zadar, 23000 Zadar, CroatiaDepartment of Psychology, University of Zadar, 23000 Zadar, CroatiaDepartment of Psychology and Counseling, Georgian Court University, Lakewood, NJ 08701, USAThe aim of this study was to determine the separate and joint contribution of individual, family, occupational, and social factors in explaining the life satisfaction of working mothers of children with developmental disabilities. Working mothers of children with disabilities participated in this study (N = 508). They completed an online questionnaire to measure factors from personal (optimism and personal strength), family (satisfaction with family finances, parental stress, number of children, and support from family members related to work), work (job demands, control, and support) and society domain (satisfaction with the healthcare, educational and welfare system). All of them were employed (at least part-time) but also, they all had at least one child with disabilities under 19 years of age whose degree of disability was officially determined. Regression analysis indicated that factors from personal, family (satisfaction with family finances, parental stress, and support from family members related to work), and societal domain (satisfaction with the healthcare system) predicted mothers’ life satisfaction. Work-related variables did not. A comprehensive approach is very useful in studying the well-being of parents of children with disabilities. Future studies should also include fathers, as it is reasonable to assume that mothers and fathers differ in the influence of certain factors on their well-being. Considering the sample size and bias, these results have significant limitations in terms of generalizability.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/13/8/177life satisfactionemployed mothers of children with disabilitiespersonal characteristicsfamily characteristicswork characteristicssociety
spellingShingle Matilda Nikolić Ivanišević
Ana Slišković
Jelena Ombla
Andrea Tokić
Theresa Brown
Life Satisfaction in Employed Mothers of Children with Disabilities: The Importance of Personal, Family, Work, and Society Characteristics
Societies
life satisfaction
employed mothers of children with disabilities
personal characteristics
family characteristics
work characteristics
society
title Life Satisfaction in Employed Mothers of Children with Disabilities: The Importance of Personal, Family, Work, and Society Characteristics
title_full Life Satisfaction in Employed Mothers of Children with Disabilities: The Importance of Personal, Family, Work, and Society Characteristics
title_fullStr Life Satisfaction in Employed Mothers of Children with Disabilities: The Importance of Personal, Family, Work, and Society Characteristics
title_full_unstemmed Life Satisfaction in Employed Mothers of Children with Disabilities: The Importance of Personal, Family, Work, and Society Characteristics
title_short Life Satisfaction in Employed Mothers of Children with Disabilities: The Importance of Personal, Family, Work, and Society Characteristics
title_sort life satisfaction in employed mothers of children with disabilities the importance of personal family work and society characteristics
topic life satisfaction
employed mothers of children with disabilities
personal characteristics
family characteristics
work characteristics
society
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/13/8/177
work_keys_str_mv AT matildanikolicivanisevic lifesatisfactioninemployedmothersofchildrenwithdisabilitiestheimportanceofpersonalfamilyworkandsocietycharacteristics
AT anasliskovic lifesatisfactioninemployedmothersofchildrenwithdisabilitiestheimportanceofpersonalfamilyworkandsocietycharacteristics
AT jelenaombla lifesatisfactioninemployedmothersofchildrenwithdisabilitiestheimportanceofpersonalfamilyworkandsocietycharacteristics
AT andreatokic lifesatisfactioninemployedmothersofchildrenwithdisabilitiestheimportanceofpersonalfamilyworkandsocietycharacteristics
AT theresabrown lifesatisfactioninemployedmothersofchildrenwithdisabilitiestheimportanceofpersonalfamilyworkandsocietycharacteristics