ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
This study aims to determine the relationship between self-esteem, social support, and life satisfaction among single mothers in Selangor. 360 respondents were obtained from four single mothers associations in Selangor selected through a cluster random sampling technique. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), Support Functions Scale (SFS) (Dunst et al. 1984), and Life Satisfaction Scale (SWL) Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin, 1985) were used to measure self-esteem, social support, and life satisfaction respectively. The results revealed that more than half of the respondents scored a low level of social support; most of the respondents had a normal level of self-esteem and reported a slight dissatisfaction with their life satisfaction. Social support and self-esteem were positively correlated with life satisfaction. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the antecedent and independent variables' relative strength in predicting single mothers’ life satisfaction. It was found that self-esteem was the most important predictor of the respondents’ life satisfaction followed by social support. This study concluded that social support and self-esteem influence the life satisfaction of single mothers. Thus, any effort and intervention to increase single mothers’ life satisfaction must consider these variables.
Agyar, E. (2013). Life satisfaction, perceived freedom in leisure and self-esteem: The case of physical education and sport students. Procedia-Soc. Behav. Sci. 93, 2186–2193. https://doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.185.
Al-Mutawtah, M., Campbell, E., Kubis, H., P., Erjavec, M. (2023). Women's experiences of social support during pregnancy: a qualitative systematic review. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 10;23(1), 782. https://doi 10.1186/s12884-023-06089-0. PMID: 37950165; PMCID: PMC10638802.
Badri, M. A., Alkhaili, M., Aldhaheri, H., Yang, G., Albahar, M., Alrashdi, A. (2022). Exploring the reciprocal relationships between happiness and life satisfaction of working adults-evidence from Abu Dhabi. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 19(6), 3575. https://doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063575. PMID: 35329261; PMCID: PMC8955857.
Cast, A. D., & Burke, P. J. (2002). A theory of self-esteem. Social forces, 80(3), 1041-1068.
Diener E., Emmons R.A., Larsen R.J., Griffin S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. J. Personal. Assess. 5(49),71–75. https://doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13.).
Dunst‚ C. J.‚ Jenkins‚ V.‚ & Trivette‚ C. M. (1984). The family support scale: reliability and validity. Journal of Individual‚ Family and Community Wellness‚ 1‚ 45-52.
Cho, D, & Cheon, W. (2023). Older adults' advance aging and life satisfaction levels: effects of lifestyles and health capabilities. Behav Sci (Basel). 13(4),293. https://doi: 10.3390/bs13040293. PMID: 37102806; PMCID: PMC10135984.
Hansen, T. (2012). Parenthood and happiness: A review of folk theories versus empirical evidence. Social Indicators Research, 108(1), 26-64. https://doi: 10.1007/s11205-011-9865-y
Jordan, C. H., Zeigler-Hill, V., & Cameron, J., J. (2017). Self-esteem. In: V. Zeigler-Hill & T. Shackelford (Eds.) Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences. Switzerland: Springer.
Karatas, Z., Uzun, K and Tagay, Ö. (2021). Relationships between life satisfaction, meaning in life, hope and COVID-19 fear for Turkish adults during the COVID-19 outbreak. Front. Psychol. 12:633384. https://doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.633384.
Kim, G. E., & Kim, E. J. (2020). Factors affecting the quality of life of single mothers compared to married mothers. BMC Psychiatry. 20(1):169. https://doi: 10.1186/s12888-020-02586-0. PMID: 32295559; PMCID: PMC7161072.
Kuykendall L., Tay L., Ng V. (2015). Leisure engagement and subjective well-being: A meta-analysis. Psychol. Bull. 141, 364–403. https://doi: 10.1037/a0038508, PMID.
Loewe N., Bagherzadeh M., Araya-Castillo L., Thieme C., Batista-Foguet J. M. (2014). Life domain satisfactions as predictors of overall life satisfaction among workers: evidence from Chile. Soc. Indic. Res. 118, 71–86. https://doi: 10.1007/s11205-013-0408-6, PMID.
Leão, E. R., Dal Fabbro, D. R., Oliveira, R. B., Santos, I. R., Victor, E. D., Aquarone, R. L., Andrade, C. B., Ribeiro, V. F., Oliveira, R. C., Friedlander, R., & Ferreira, D., S. (2017). Stress, self-esteem and well-being among female health professionals: A randomized clinical trial on the impact of a self-care intervention mediated by the senses. PLoS One. 12(2):e0172455. https://doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172455. PMID: 28241070; PMCID: PMC5328264.
Liu, Q., Jiang, M., Li, S. & Yang, Y. (2021). Social support, resilience, and self-esteem protect against common mental health problems in early adolescence: A nonrecursive analysis from a two-year longitudinal study. Medicine (Baltimore). 100(4),e24334. https://doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000024334. PMID: 33530225; PMCID: PMC7850671.
Magee, C. A., Miller, L. M. & Heaven P. C. (2013). Personality traits change and life satisfaction in adults: The roles of age and hedonic balance. Personal. Individ. Differ. 55, 694–698. https://doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2013.05.022.
Malvaso, A. & Kang, W. (2022). The relationship between areas of life satisfaction, personality, and overall life satisfaction: An integrated account. Front Psychol. 13:894610. https://doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.894610. PMID: 36211891; PMCID: PMC9532945.
Moksnes, U. K. & Espnes, G. A. (2013). Self-esteem and life satisfaction in adolescents—gender and age as potential moderators. Qual Life Res 22, 2921–2928. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-013-0427-4.
Muarifah, A., Widyastuti, D. A., & Fajarwati, I. (2019). The effect of social support on single mothers’ subjective well-being and its implication for counseling. Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling, 4(4), 143–149.
Nelson, S. K., Kushlev, K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2014). The pains and pleasures of parenting: When, why, and how is parenthood associated with more or less well-being? Psychological Bulletin, 140(3), 846-895.
Newman, D. B., Tay L. & Diener, E. (2014). Leisure and subjective well-being: A model of psychological mechanisms as mediating factors. J. Happiness Stud. 15, 555–578. https://doi: 10.1007/s10902-013-9435-x.
Oh, H. J., Ozkaya, E., & LaRose, R. (2014). How does online social networking enhance life satisfaction? The relationships among online supportive interaction, affect, perceived social support, sense of community, and life satisfaction. Computers in Human Behavior, 30, 69–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.07.053.
Pollmann-Schult, M. (2016). Single motherhood and life satisfaction in comparative perspective: Do institutional and cultural contexts explain the life satisfaction penalty for single mothers? Journal of Family Issues. 39(7), 2061-2084. https://doi:10.1177/0192513X177411 78.
Prattley, J., Buffel, T., Marshall, A., & Nazroo, J. (2020). Area effects on the level and development of social exclusion in later life. Social Science & Medicine, 246, 112722.
Rosenberg, M., Schooler, C., & Schoenbach, C. (1989). Self-esteem and adolescent problems: modeling reciprocal effects. American Sociological Review, 54, 1004-1018.https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2095720.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSE). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Measures Package, 61.
Sabri, M. F., Dass, T. M., Burhan, N. A. S., Abdul Rahim, H., Wijekon, R., Simanjuntak, M. (2021). Determinants of life satisfaction among female-headed households in Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Society. Vol. 22(1), 276-295.
Siedlecki, K. L, Salthouse, T. A, Oishi, S. & Jeswani, S. (2014). The relationship between social support and subjective well-being across age. Soc Indic Res. 117(2), 561-576. https://doi: 10.1007/s11205-013-0361-4. PMID: 25045200; PMCID: PMC4102493.
Stack, R. J, Meredith, A. (2018). The impact of financial hardship on single parents: an exploration of the journey from social distress to seeking help. J Fam Econ Issues. 39(2), 233-242. https://doi: 10.1007/s10834-017-9
Wu, N., Ding, F., Zhang, R., Cai, Y. & Zhang, H. (2022). The relationship between perceived social support and life satisfaction: the chain mediating effect of resilience and depression among Chinese medical staff. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 19(24), 16646. https://doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416646. PMID: 36554524; PMCID: PMC9778748.
Yang, J., Xu, X., Chen, Y., Shi, Z., & Han, S. (2016). Trait self-esteem and neural activities related to self-evaluation and social feedback. Scientific Reports, 6(1), 1-10.
Yu, M., Qiu, T., Liu, C, Cui, Q. & Wu, H. (2020). The mediating role of perceived social support between anxiety symptoms and life satisfaction in pregnant women: A cross-sectional study. Health And Quality of Life Outcomes, 18(1), 223. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-020-01479-w.
Zanjari, N., Momtaz, Y. A., Kamal, S. H. M., Basakha, M., Ahmadi, S. (2022). The influence of providing and receiving social support on older adults' well-being. Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 18:e174501792112241. https://doi: 10.2174/17450179-v18-e2112241. PMID: 37274857; PMCID: PMC10156029.
Zhang, J., Zhao, S., Lester, D. & Zhou, C. (2014). Life satisfaction and its correlates among college students in China: a test of social reference theory. Asian J Psychiatr. 10:17-20. https://doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2013.06.014.
Ahmad, S., & Maznan, N. H. (2024). Relationship between Self-Esteem, Social Support, and Life Satisfaction among Single Mothers in Selangor. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(10), 1992–2004.
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode