Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Life Satisfaction in Autism

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

  • 30 Accesses

Definition

Life satisfaction refers to the subjective appraisal of one’s satisfaction with their overall life circumstances. This concept may be conceptualized broadly, as individuals may vary in the relative weight of various life factors (e.g., family, friends, school, self) on their life satisfaction. Life satisfaction may also be domain-specific, such that individuals may be asked to provide a rating of their satisfaction within specific areas. Further, life satisfaction may be distinguished from objective indicators of functioning, such as quality of life. The study of life satisfaction arose from the field of positive psychology, which emphasizes the scientific study of human flourishing; this emphasis on positive indicators of functioning is particularly important within the field of disability (see Schalock 2004for a detailed discussion). Research with youth has demonstrated that focusing assessment on disordered symptomatology alone neglects important aspects of functioning,...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References and Reading

  • Dew, T., & Huebner, E. S. (1994). Adolescents’ perceived quality of life: An exploratory investigation. Journal of School Psychology, 32, 185–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egilson, S. T., Olafsdóttir, L. B., Leósdóttir, T., & Saemundsen, E. (2017). Quality of life of high-functioning children and youth with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing peers: Self- and proxy-reports. Autism, 21, 133–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316630881.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Franke, K. B., Hills, K., Huebner, E. S., & Flory, K. (2019). Life satisfaction in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49, 1205–1218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3822-4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gilman, R., & Huebner, E. S. (1997). Children’s reports of their life satisfaction: Convergence across raters, time and response formats. School Psychology International, 18, 229–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenspoon, P. J., & Saklofske, D. H. (2001). Toward an integration of subjective well-being and psychopathology. Social Indicators Research, 54, 81–108. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007219227883.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, E. S. (1991). Initial development of the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale. School Psychology International, 12, 231–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, E. S. (1994). Preliminary development and validation of a multidimensional life satisfaction scale for children. Psychological Assessment, 6, 149–158. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.6.2.149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDougall, J., Wright, V., Nichols, M., & Miller, L. (2012). Assessing the psychometric properties of both a global and a domain-specific perceived quality of life measure when used with youth who have chronic conditions. Social Indicators Research, 114, 1243–1257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0200-z.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Schalock, R. L. (2004). The emerging disability paradigm and its implications for policy and practice. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 14, 204–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/10442073040140040201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seligson, J. L., Huebner, E. S., & Valois, R. F. (2003). Preliminary validation of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS). Social Indicators Research, 61, 121–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suldo, S. M., & Shaffer, E. J. (2008). Looking beyond psychopathology: The dual-factor model of mental health. School Psychology Review, 37, 52–78.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Unumb Center for Neurodevelopment, Columbia, SC, USA

    Kathleen B. Franke

Authors
  1. Kathleen B. Franke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathleen B. Franke .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Franke, K.B. (2020). Life Satisfaction in Autism. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102326-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102326-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation