Life satisfaction and Early Maladaptive Schemas in children in residential care
https://doi.org/10.54088/98jui
Keywords:
Life satisfaction, Early Maladaptive Schemas, child protection services, residential careAbstract
Life satisfaction is the degree to which a person positively evaluates the overall quality of life. The aim of the present study is to illustrate the levels of life satisfaction both in total and per domain and to investigate the relationship of EMS and EMS domains with life satisfaction in children living in residential care. Sixty six children (51,5% were girls) with mean age 12.9 ±2,4 participated in our study. Participants of our study were children and adolescents that were referred to the Day Center “The house of the Child” and lived in caring homes of “ the Smile of the Child”. The Greek version of the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale and the Greek version of the Schema Questionnaire for Children were administered to children. Highest scores of life satisfaction were presented by satisfaction with friends and lowest by satisfaction with family contact. Life satisfaction was inversely predicted by EMS: a) Emotional Inhibition, b) Enmeshment, c) Vulnerability to Harm and d) Abandonment and by domains of EMS: a) Disconnection/Rejection and b) Overvigilance/Inhibition. Regarding life satisfaction, it was observed negative correlation with age and no gender differences were observed for life satisfaction and EMS. We suggest the extension of the study to broader samples including evaluations regarding psychopathology. Through the knowledge on cognitive processes and dysfunctional patterns, it is possible that the dynamic process of their consolidation will be better understood and more appropriate and developmentally oriented intervention will be created.
References
Young JE. Cognitive Therapy for Personality Disorders: a schema-focused approach. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Exchange. 1990.
Montserrat C, Llosada-Gistau J, Garcia-Molsosa M, Casas F. The Subjective Well-Being of Children in Residential Care: Has It Changed in Recent Years?. Social Sciences 2022; 11(1):25.
González-García C, Águila-Otero A, Montserrat C, Lázaro S, Martín E, del Valle JF, Bravo A. Subjective well-being of young people in therapeutic residential care from a gender perspective. Child Indicators Research 2022; 15(1):249–62.
Andreopoulou O, Skiadopoulos S, Drakou Z, Gourzis P. Behavioural and emotional profile of children in residential care in Greece. Psychiatrike= Psychiatriki 2020; 31(4):321–31.
Tsouvelas G, Chondrokouki M, Nikolaidis G, Shapiro E. A vicarious trauma preventive approach. The Group Traumatic Episode Protocol EMDR and workplace affect in professionals who work with child abuse and neglect. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience & Mental Health 2019; 2(3):130–38. doi:10.26386/obrela.v2i3.123
Tsouvelas G, Papoulidi A, Pavlopoulos V. Decreasing trends in adolescent life satisfaction: the role of developmental and demographic factors: https://doi. org/10.54088/10.54088/6i68j. Developmental and Adolescent Health 2022; 2(1):48-56.
Cowen EL. Now that we all know that primary prevention in mental health is great, what is it? Journal of Community Psychology 2000; 28(1):5–16. doi:10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(200001)28:1<5::aid-jcop3>3.0.co;2-h
Seligman MEP, Csikszentmihalyi M. Positive psychology: An introduction, American Psychologist 2000; 55:5–14.
Roberts MC. Positive Psychology for children: development, prevention and promotion. In: Snyder CR, Lopez SJ, editors. Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. 2002.
Diener E. Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities. Social Indicators Research 1994; 31(2):103–57. doi:10.1007/bf01207052
Huebner ES, Suldo SM, Smith LC, & McKnight CG. Life satisfaction in children and youth: Empirical foundations and implications for school psychologists. Psychology in the Schools 2004; 41(1):81–93. doi:10.1002/pits.10140
Diener E, Suh EM, Lucas RE, Smith HL. Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin 1999; 125(2), 276–302. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276
Huebner ES, Laughlin JE, Ash C, Gilman R. Further validation of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 1998; 16(2):118–34. doi:10.1177/073428299801600202
Gilman R, Huebner ES, Laughlin J. A first study of the Multidimensional Students' Life Scale with adolescents. Social Indicators Research 2000; 52(2):135–160.
Garcia-Molsosa M, Collet-Sabé J, Martori JC, Montserrat C. School satisfaction among youth in residential care: A multi-source analysis. Children and Youth Services Review 2019; 105:104409.
Carvalho J, Delgado P, Montserrat C, Llosada-Gistau, J, Casas F. Subjective well-being of children in care: Comparison between Portugal and Catalonia. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 2021; 38(1):81–90. doi:10.1007/s10560-020-00675-3
Llosada-Gistau J, Casas F, Montserrat C. What matters in for the subjective well-being of children in care?. Child Indicators Research 2017; 10(3):735–60.
Gilman R, Barry J. Multidimensional life satisfaction among adolescents in a residential treatment setting: Changes across time and its relationship with social desirability. Residential Treatment for Children and Youth 2003; 21(2):19–41.
Wood M, Selwyn J. Looked after children and young people’s views on what matters to their subjective well-being. Adoption & Fostering 2017; 41(1):20–34. doi:10.1177/0308575916686034
Beck A. Thinking and depression: 2. Theory and therapy. Archives of General Psychiatry 1964; 10: 561–571.
Beck A. Cognitive models of depression. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy 1987; 1: 5–37.
Young JE, Klosko JS, Weishaar ME. Schema therapy: A practitioner's guide. Guilford Press. 2003.
Reinecke MA, Dattilio FM, Freeman A. Cognitive Therapy with Children and Adolescents: a casebook for clinical practice. New York: Guilford Press. 2003.
Ford T, Vostanis P, Meltzer H, Goodman R. Psychiatric disorder among British children looked after by local authorities: Comparison with children living in private households. British Journal of Psychiatry 2007; 190(4):319–325. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.106.025023
Seligson JL, Huebner ES, Valois RF. Preliminary validation of the brief multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale (BMSLSS). Social Indicators Research 2003; 61(2):121-145.
Stallard P, Rayner H. The Development and Preliminary Evaluation of a Schema Questionnaire for Children (SQC). Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy 2004; 33(2):217–224. doi:10.1017/s1352465804001912
Stallard P. Early maladaptive schemas in children: Stability and differences between a community and a clinic referred sample. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy 2007; 14(1):10–8. doi:10.1002/cpp.511
Zafiropoulou M, Avagianou PA, Vassiliadou S. Parental bonding and early maladaptive schemas. Journal of Psychological Abnormalities in Children 2014; 3(1):1-6. doi:10.4172/2329-9525.1000110
Tsouvelas G, Chondrokouki Μ, Antoniou X, Nikolaidis G. Polyvictimization and early maladaptive schemas in children in residential care. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2021; 9(2):3–17.
Faustino B, Vasco AB, Delgado J, Farinha‐Fernandes A, Guerreiro JC. Early maladaptive schemas and COVID‐19 anxiety: The mediational role of mistrustfulness and vulnerability to harm and illness. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy 2022; 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2706
Shirvani MY, Peyvastegar M. The relationship between life satisfaction and early maladaptive schemas in university students. Knowledge & Research in Applied Psychology 2011; 12(2), 55-65.
Bisegger C, Cloetta B, von Bisegger U, Abel T, Ravens-Sieberer U. Health-related quality of life: gender differences in childhood and adolescence. Sozial-Und Präventivmedizin SPM 2005; 50(5): 281–291. doi:10.1007/s00038-005-4094-2
Goldbeck L, Schmitz TG, Besier T, Herschbach P, Henrich G. Life satisfaction decreases during adolescence. Quality of Life Research 2007; 16(6), 969–979. doi:10.1007/s11136-007-9205-5
Rees G, Bradshaw J, Goswami H, Keung A. Understanding children’s well-being. A national survey of young people’s well-being. London: The Children’s Society. 2010.
Dinisman T, Montserrat C, Casas F. The subjective well-being of Spanish adolescents: Variations according to different living arrangements. Children and Youth Services Review 2012; 34(12):2374–80.
Llosada Gistau J, Casas Aznar F, Montserrat Boada C. The subjective well-being of children in kinship care. Psicothema 2019; 31(2):149–55.
Main M, Solomon J. Procedures for identifying infants as disorganized/disoriented during the Ainsworth Strange Situation. In: Greenberg MT, Cicchetti D, Cummings EM, editors., The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation series on mental health and development. Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention. Chicago, IL, US: University of Chicago Press. 1990. pp. 121–160.