Kindermishandeling en levenstevredenheid: De rol van betekenisverlening in de relatie tussen kindermishandeling en levenstevredenheid bij kwetsbare jongeren

Abstract

Child maltreatment is a big problem that has a devastating impact on the physical and psychological well-being of those who experience it. This research investigates the role of meaning making in the association between child maltreatment and life satisfaction. In total, 229 adolescents of a clinical population were included in this study. They filled out two questionnaires about experienced life events (LEQ) and life satisfaction (SWLS) and participated in a semi-structured interview about a turning-point event in their lives. Results showed that experiencing multiple forms of child maltreatment was related to a decreased satisfaction with life. Considering the role of meaning making it was found that adaptive meaning making diminished and maladaptive meaning making exacerbated any detrimental effect of experiencing child maltreatment on life satisfaction: hence a moderating effect. The importance of these findings for both expanding scientific as well as clinically relevant knowledge are discussed.