PERBEDAAN KEPUASAN HIDUP PADA AYAH DAN IBU DENGAN ANAK BERKEBUTUHAN KHUSUS (ABK)

Life satisfaction is an important aspect of subjective well-being. This study aims to compare the life satisfaction of fathers and mothers who have children with special needs. The study employed a comparative approach using convenience sampling. The respondents in this study consisted of 116 parents (37 fathers and 79 mothers) who have children with special needs. The instrument used was a satisfaction with life scale (SWLS), which was translated into Indonesia by Akhtar, with items further developed by researchers based on Diener’s theory, specifically in the context of the parenting of children with special needs. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 30 with the Mann-Whitney U Test. The findings revealed no significant difference in life satisfaction between fathers and mothers of children with special needs. However, the mean rank scores showed a different pattern. Fathers tended to report higher general life satisfaction, while mothers scored higher in life satisfaction as parents of children with special needs. The findings offer insight into how fathers and mothers perceive life satisfaction in the context of parenting a child with special needs and support Diener’s view that employment is one of the contributing factors to achieving life satisfaction.