Abstract
ObjectiveWe examine the potential associations between self-rated health, employment situation, relationship status and personal wellbeing in young adults with and without a history of language impairment (LI). MethodsIn total, 172 24-year-olds from the UK participated, with approximately half (N = 84) having a history of LI. Personal wellbeing was measured using ratings from three questions from the Office for National Statistics regarding life satisfaction, happiness and life being worthwhile. ResultsThere were similarities between individuals with a history of LI and their age-matched peers in self-rated personal wellbeing. However, regression analyses revealed self-rated health was the most consistent predictor of personal wellbeing for individuals with a history of LI in relation to life satisfaction (21% of variance), happiness (11%) and perceptions that things one does in life are worthwhile (32%). None of the regression analyses were significant for their peers. ConclusionsSimilarities on ratings of wellbeing by young adults with and without a history of LI can mask heterogeneity and important differences. Young adults with a history of LI are more vulnerable to the effects of health, employment and relationship status on their wellbeing than their peers.
Highlights
There is increasing interest in understanding what makes individuals happy
Using one-sample t-tests we found that the groups did not differ from national norms for each of the wellbeing questions (Life Satisfaction: language impairment (LI) t(81)=-0.43, p=.671, d=-0.05 Age-matched peers (AMP): t(86)=0.04, p=.972, d=0.00, Happiness: LI t(81)=0.49, p=.625, d=0.05 AMP: t(86)=-0.81, p=.422 d=-0.09., Life Worthwhile: LI t(81)=-1.62, p=.109, d=-0.18 AMP: t(86)=-0.57, p=.573, d=-0.06)
Do young adults with LI seek more or less medical advice than peers? Do they make more or less use of services related to mental health?. This investigation provides the first report of associations between ratings of health, employment situation, relationship status and personal wellbeing in young adults with a history of childhood LI
Summary
There is increasing interest in understanding what makes individuals happy. In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution inviting member countries to measure the happiness of their people and to use this to help guide their public policies. Governments and policymakers recognise that self-rated perceptions of happiness provide meaningful measures of population satisfaction and wellbeing, and that gauging the correlates of happiness, such as self-rated health, can inform the ways in which policies and services can be ‘tailored to the things that matter’ (Office for National Statistics, 2015). In respect of personal wellbeing, research and theory have identified life satisfaction, a meaningful life, and positive feelings of contentment or happiness as core constructs (Diener, Scollon, & Lucas, 2003). These can be represented in relatively straightforward items. In their review of nineteen large datasets, Dolan, Peasgood and White (2008) found that the most common measures of personal wellbeing involved happiness and life satisfaction
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