MEANING IN LIFE, MEANING-FOCUSED COPING AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING OF PARENTS RAISING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

The relationship between meaning in life and subjective well-being is complex.The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between global and situational meaning in life of parents of children with disabilities with their family satisfaction and subjective happiness as measures of their subjective well-being.In addition, the study examines whether the benefit-finding strategy, a strategy that focuses on meaning in life, mediates the relationship between meaning in parents' lives with their subjective well-being.The sample consisted of 186 parents, the majority of whom were female, who completed self-report questionnaires measuring the presence of meaning in life (as a global meaning measure), personal control (as a situational meaning measure), benefit-finding strategy, family satisfaction, and subjective happiness (as subjective well-being measures).Results showed that both the presence of meaning and personal control were positively related to family satisfaction and subjective happiness.In addition, the benefit-finding strategy was found to act as a mediating factor, i.e. it explained part of the predictive relationship between the presence of meaning in life and personal control with the dimensions of subjective well-being studied.These findings may be useful for mental health professionals aiming to improve the subjective well-being of parents of children with disabilities.In the counseling process, training parents in the benefit-finding strategy can empower them by replacing negative perceptions of disability with its positive effects or consequences.