Relationships between Life Satisfaction, Happiness and Meaning in Life in Pregnancy during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

While it was established that COVID-19 pandemic had negative consequences on several aspects of mental health, little is known about the role of positive mental health indicators in pregnant women during this period. The purpose of the present study was to examine relationships between meaning in life, life satisfaction and happiness and the extent to which meaning in life predicts life satisfaction and happiness. The sample consisted of 161 pregnant women from Slovakia. Data were collecting using Life Meaningfulness Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale and Subjective Happiness Scale. As predicted, results showed that meaning in life is a predictor of life satisfaction and happiness. Higher happiness was related to increasing degree of meaning in life and absence of pregnancy-related health problems. 65% of participants reported high level of satisfaction with life and 48% of participants reported higher happiness than average person. These findings provide evidence for associations between meaning in life, life satisfaction and happiness in Slovak pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic and indicate that despite negative consequences of the pandemic, positive indicators of mental health in pregnancy play a significant role