RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OCCUPATION AND LIFE SATISFACTION IN PEOPLE WITH MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS

Activity is essential for all human beings, and provides a means throu gh which human beings develop, gain recognition, and fulfil life's goa ls. The focus for this study was on activities performed by people wit h a chronic disease and their effects on experienced life satisfaction . Thirty subjects with multiple sclerosis (MS) were interviewed with r egard to activities of daily living (ADL), and checklists were used fo r activity preferences and levels of satisfaction with life as a whole and with nine domain-specific forms of life satisfaction. The results of the study reveal 14 of the subjects to be satisfied and 16 to be d issatisfied. The main differences between the two groups were that the satisfied were less tired, and that they were more independent in sel f-care. Those in the satisfied group reported being more satisfied wit h leisure situation (57%, cf. 25% in the dissatisfied group) and house keeping ability (36%, cf. 6% in the dissatisfied group). Leisure and h ousekeeping appear to have an impact on subjects' experienced satisfac tion, and are factors to be taken into consideration by occupational t herapists when treating MS patients.