The Social Dimension of Disability – Correlation of Certain Aspects of Social Functioning with the Level of Optimism and Life Satisfaction of Persons with Disabilities

Dosadašnja istraživanja najčešće ukazuju na pozitivnu povezanost socijalne podrške s razinom zadovoljstva životom te općenito kvalitetom života. Međutim, postoji i niz istraživanja koja pokazuju da to nije uvijek tako, odnosno da različite vrste i različiti izvori socijalne podrške mogu različito utjecati na pojedinca, pa čak biti i kontraproduktivni. Tematika je posebice nedovoljno istražena među osobama s invaliditetom te je cilj ovog rada analizirati upravo različite aspekte socijalne podrške i socijalnog funkcioniranja kod osoba s invaliditetom (dostupnost socijalne podrške, učestalost kontakata te zadovoljstvo socijalnim odnosima), a onda utvrditi i potencijalnu povezanost sa zadovoljstvom životom, ali i s optimizmom kao svojevrsnim medijatorom među njima. Provedeno je empirijsko istraživanje među osobama s različitim vrstama invaliditeta (N=684), a dobiveni rezultati jasno pokazuju da su svi oblici socijalne podrške značajno i pozitivno povezani s optimizmom i zadovoljstvom životom. Kada se spomenute oblike podrške stavi u međusobni hijerarhijski odnos (zajedno s nekim sociodemografskim varijablama) te provjeri njihov predikcijski doprinos razini optimizma i zadovoljstva životom, dostupnost socijalne podrške i zadovoljstvo njome preuzimaju primat u odnosu na gotovo sve ostale varijable, odnosno pokazuju se kao najznačajniji prediktori.Current research has most often pointed to a positive correlation of social support with the level of life satisfaction and the quality of life in general. However, there is a series of research suggesting that this is not always the case, but rather that various forms and sources of social support can differ in their influence on individuals, and even be counter-productive. The topic is particularly underexplored among persons with disabilities. It is therefore the aim of this paper to analyse the various aspects of social support and social functioning of persons with disabilities (availability of social support, frequency of contacts, and satisfaction with social relations). Furthermore, the aim is also to ascertain their potential correlation with life satisfaction, and with optimism, as a kind of a mediator between them. The empirical study was conducted among persons with various types of disabilities (N=684), with the obtained results clearly suggesting that all forms of social support are significantly and positively correlated with optimism and life satisfaction. When the mentioned forms of social support are put in a mutual hierarchical relation (together with some sociodemographic variables), and upon examining their predicational contribution to the level of optimism and life satisfaction, the availability of social support and satisfaction with it become primary, compared to almost all other variables, that is, they appear as the most significant predictors