Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.6 Issue.3

Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.24.3.01

RESEARCH ARTICLE / ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI

The Mediating Role of Positive Affect in the Relationship between a Sense of Meaning and Life Satisfaction in Individuals with Severe Visual Impairment

Ağır Görme Bozukluğu Olan Bireylerde Anlam Duygusu ile Yaşam Doyumu Arasındaki İlişkide Pozitif Duygulanımın Aracı Rolü

Alper Ateş1 Pınar Dursun-Karslı2 Ahu Altınel3

Abstract:

Visual impairment (VI), a severe reduction in visual sensitivity, is an important public health problem with significant economic and social burdens. VI has been linked to poorer well-being and mental health markers due to activity loss, functional declines, and social isolation. Increasing meaningfulness and positive mood states are critical reservoirs in maintaining well-being. Nevertheless, there are inconsistent findings on the association between the presence of meaning and positive affect, and very limited studies have existed in the context of VI. To fulfill this gap, in this study, we first aimed to examine the relationships among meaning in life dimensions, life satisfaction, and positive and negative affect, and secondly to find out the mediator role of positive affect in the relationship between life satisfaction and the presence of meaning. Thus, 388 individuals with VI (120 female and 268 male) with a mean age of 35.92 (SD = 11.40) participated in this study. The Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were administered to all the participants. The mediation test analysis demonstrated that positive affect partially mediated the relationship between a sense of meaning and life satisfaction. This finding suggests that individuals with IV experiencing a sense of meaning are more likely to feel positive, which, in turn, become more satisfied with their lives. Positive affect accounted for 87.4% of the total relation between the presence of meaning and life satisfaction (Frazier et al., 2004). Thus, clinicians can focus on increasing meaning sources in life that would create positive moods to increase life satisfaction in individuals with VI.

Keywords: Visual impairment, well-being, subjective well-being, presence of meaning, positive affect.

*This study includes a partial master thesis of the last author supervised by the first author. The research was not supported by any funding source. Authors have no conflict of interest.

1Assoc. Prof., Selçuk University, Department of Tourism Guidance, Tourism Faculty, Konya, Türkiye, [email protected], Orcid ID: 0000-0002-4347-7306

2Assoc. Prof., Afyon Kocatepe University, Department of Psychology, Art & Science Faculty, Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye, [email protected], Orcid ID: 0000-0002-1451-0998

3BSc, Selçuk University,  Department of Tourism Guidance, Tourism Faculty, Konya, Türkiye, [email protected], Orcid ID: 0000-0002-1108-3337

Address of Correpondence/Yazışma Adresi: Assoc. Prof., Afyon Kocatepe University, Art & Science Faculty, Department of Psychology, 03200, Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye. Email: [email protected] [email protected] Orcid ID: 0000-0002-1451-0998

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 25.05.2024, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 17.07.2024, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi: 18.07.2024, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 25.09.2024

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Ateş A., Dursun-Karslı P. & Altınel A. (2024). The Mediating Role of Positive Affect in the Relationship between a Sense of Meaning and Life Satisfaction in Individuals with Severe Visual Impairment. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 6(3): 204-212

© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/