Predictors of life satisfaction among caregivers of children with developmental disabilities in South Korea

Abstract

It is known that factors such as socio-demographic characteristics and care-related stressors among caregivers of children with developmental disabilities (CDD) predict their life satisfaction (LS). Due to a lack of data, however, very little is known about the predictors of LS in South Korea. This study aims to examine factors associated with LS among the caregivers of CDD using the recently collected data from the national survey on people with developmental disabilities in South Korea. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was performed including a total of 390 caregivers participated in the survey. Key findings are as follows. (1) Both child’s age and caregiver’s age were negatively associated with caregivers’ LS, whereas the severity of child’s disability and monthly family income were positively associated with the caregivers’ LS. (2) While caregiving stress and perceived financial burden were negatively associated with LS, amount of time for caring was not significantly associated with LS. Based on the findings, discussion and implications for theory and practice are provided.