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Building Life Satisfaction Through Well-Being Dimensions: A Longitudinal Study in Children with a Life-Threatening Illness

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Abstract

Recent literature suggests that people increase their life satisfaction over time as a result of developing positive psychological resources (e.g. benefit finding). However, this hypothesis has not yet tested in children. Since suffering from illness is usually associated with challenge and growth, we hypothesized that changes in life satisfaction in a sample of ill children would depend on to what extent they developed resources. Children with a life threatening illness (N = 67 at T1 and N = 49 at T2, ages 7–18 years) completed the Student Life Satisfaction Scale, a measure of health-related functioning problems, a measure of positive emotions (PE), the Benefit Finding Scale for Children, and a measure of strengths from the Values in Action Inventory of Character Strengths for Youth. The same measures were assessed 6 months after the first assessment. Using structural equation modeling techniques, results revealed that health-related functioning problems were associated with negative changes in life satisfaction over time. Moreover, increases in benefit finding and character strengths (i.e., love and gratitude) predicted positive changes in LS over time. Finally, PE predicted changes in benefit finding over time through several personal strengths (i.e., vitality and gratitude). The development of positive psychological resources in children experiencing high levels of stress may promote desirable psychological outcomes. Therefore, in order to help clinicians prevent negative outcomes, future research should strive to better understand life satisfaction and its underlying predictors in children experiencing difficult life circumstances.

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Notes

  1. Authors defined “BF” as “the positive effects that result from a traumatic event” (Meyerson et al. 2011), while resilience has been defined as “a dynamic developmental process reflecting evidence of effective coping and adaptation despite significant life adversity” (Masten 2001). BF does not necessarily reflect positive adjustment. Despite the differences, these terms have conceptual correspondence and, thus, both constructs are mentioned in this introduction.

  2. The present study was part of a larger longitudinal study on the work of organizations and foundations working with children in hospitals. Children, aged 5–18, and their parents were contacted. 118 families were initially contacted. Nine of them declined to participate and nine showed difficulties in making an appointment. Finally, 100 families were considered to conduct different studies on well-being in children with life-threatening illnesses. For this study, we specifically focused on children from 7 to 18 as there are some variables that require a level of cognitive development that cannot be evaluated properly in younger children (such as BF).

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by Fundacion Lafourcade-Ponce. The authors would like to thank Cristina Lafuente for her continuous support and enthusiasm. We are also especially grateful to Cristina Cuadrado, Miriam Gil, Cristina Pozo, Cecilia del Valle and Elena Perez, members of Fundacion Pequeño Deseo, for providing contact with the children and for always being available to help. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the collaborating hospitals, doctors and children who have participated in this study. Thanks to Matthew Abrams and Jessica Carney for his assistance in improving the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Psychology, Complutense University, Campus de Somosaguas, 28223, Madrid, Spain

    Covadonga Chaves, Gonzalo Hervas & Carmelo Vazquez

  2. School of Psychology, Santo Tomás University, Concepción, Chile

    Felipe E. García

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  1. Covadonga Chaves
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Chaves, C., Hervas, G., García, F.E. et al. Building Life Satisfaction Through Well-Being Dimensions: A Longitudinal Study in Children with a Life-Threatening Illness. J Happiness Stud 17, 1051–1067 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-015-9631-y

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