Examining the Relationship between Life Satisfaction and the Happiness-increasing Strategies used by Mothers for their Children

The aim of this research is to reveal the relationship between the life satisfaction of mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they use for their children. Within the scope of the general purpose of the study, it was also examined whether the life satisfaction of the mothers and the happiness-enhancing strategies they used for their children differed in terms of some demographic variables. The correlational model, one of the quantitative research designs, was used in the study


INTRODUCTION
Life satisfaction as an important factor for mental health (Myers & Diener, 1995) was first addressed by Neugarten et al. (1961).The concept of life satisfaction was defined by Neugarten et al. (1961) as a state of comparison between the expectations of individuals and what they have.Life satisfaction is defined as the expectations and needs of people about life and the result obtained by meeting them.In short, it is the satisfaction and satisfaction of people's expectations (Karabulut & Özer, 2003).People who are satisfied with life and whose needs are met are able to evaluate life in a positive way (Haybron, 2007).There are many factors that affect life satisfaction, including gender, health, work-life balance, age, education level, religion, income, economic level, social life, personality, and biological characteristics.Life satisfaction has been shown to be related to these factors (Badri et al., 2022).Life satisfaction "refers to an individual's views on subjective well-being and quality of life.Subjective well-being is about how people experience their lives in a positive way" (Babahanoğlu, 2020, p. 520).
A person wants to be happy throughout their life and seeks happiness.Happiness is a universal emotion and is the ultimate goal of almost all people, a concept that everyone wants to achieve and strives to achieve.Happiness, according to Diener (1984), is the experience of positive emotions more than negative emotions, the state of being satisfied with life.According to Sizer (2010), happiness, which has an important place in human life, is a phenomenon that all people want to achieve.It is inconceivable that this concept, which is so valuable for us adult people, should be ignored and not given importance to children.There is no doubt that parents want their children to be happy, and they resort to a number of strategies to make them happy.Happiness-increasing strategies are defined as factors that positively affect people's happiness or subjective well-being (Eryılmaz, 2021).Eryılmaz and Sapsağlam (2018) aimed to develop the scale of subjective well-being enhancement strategies used by mothers with children aged 1-5 years.Happiness-increasing strategies are examined in four sub-dimensions.These subdimensions are: physical contact (hugging, kissing, cuddling), playing, satisfying desires, and taking them on a walk.Another study by Baltacı (2020) examined the happiness-increasing strategies used by Turkish and Swedish mothers to make their children happy.As a result of this study, which compared the happiness-increasing strategies of mothers from two cultures, it was found that Turkish mothers used more happiness-increasing strategies than Swedish mothers.Swedish mothers are more likely to use "playing" and "physical contact" strategies.It was found that Turkish mothers also used the strategies of "playing games," "physical contact," and "fulfilling their wishes" more frequently.It has been observed that mothers with high school and lower education levels use happiness-increasing strategies more than mothers at undergraduate and graduate education levels.At the same time, culture has been found to be effective in the use of happiness-increasing strategies used by mothers to make their children happy.
Mother-child relationships between parents in general and mothers in particular have a fundamental importance on children's happiness (Richter et al., 2018).Parents' life satisfaction is associated with parenting style and behaviors in child development.It has been found that mothers who are happy and have positive emotions communicate more verbally with their children and are more likely to make positive statements to their children in these communications (Barling et al., 1993).On the contrary, it has been supported by experimental studies that parents who do not get enough satisfaction from life are in a negative mood and are more likely to be rejectionist or punitive in their communication with their children (Jouriles et al., 1989).The role of mothers, who assume the role of primary caregiver in the development of children, is important.In general, the warm bond that mothers establish with their children, parental style, parental behavior, attitudes, and mood affect the cognitive, social, emotional, language, and motor development of children (Song et al., 2019).In particular, it has been determined in the research that the life satisfaction levels of the mothers have a direct effect on the children.While high life satisfaction levels of mothers positively affect the psychological development of children, a low level of life satisfaction can adversely affect the psychological development of children (Güneş, 2017;Headey et al., 2014).Recent studies have shown that there is a positive relationship between the life satisfaction of mothers and the frequency of daily activities and learning they do with their children and the pro-social behaviors of children.It has been observed that mothers who are satisfied with life, that is, with high life satisfaction, participate more in their children's activities, and it has been found that the pro-social skills, self-regulation, and verbal skills of the children of these mothers are higher than other children (Richter et al., 2018).In a study where the life satisfaction of working mothers was examined with some variables (Babahanoğlu, 2020), it was seen that mothers with one child had higher life satisfaction than mothers with two or more children, and life satisfaction of mothers with a university education level was higher than mothers whose education level was below university level.At the same time, it was seen that married mothers with high economic levels had higher life satisfaction and were happier.The family, which plays a key role in the development of the child, affects the happiness and unhappiness of the children.The communication and relationship that parents form according to their life satisfaction or happiness level has an impact on the development of the child.More frequent experiences of positive emotions, attitudes, and reactions such as joy and excitement experienced by parents have a positive effect on child psychology and lead to fewer behavioral problems in children.Negative emotions, reactions, and attitudes such as sadness, anger, resentment, depression, and frustration adversely affect children's mental health and psychology and, as a result, cause more behavioral problems in children (Atabey, 2017).Children whose parents are happy and whose quality of life is high are happy, less stressed, socially competent, and engage in pro-social behavior (Berger & Spiess, 2011).Children of mothers with high life satisfaction and psychological well-being appear to be very healthy (Dickerson, 2021).
When the literature is examined, it is seen that the studies on the happiness of preschool children are very few and this issue is neglected in the academic field (Park and Peterson, 2006).In addition, no study has been found that examines the relationship between life satisfaction of mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they use for their children.It is thought that this study will provide a layer to the field literature.In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between the life satisfaction of mothers with 3-5-year-old children and the happiness-increasing strategies they use for their children.For this purpose, the following questions were sought to be answered: • What is the level of the mothers' life satisfaction and happiness-increasing strategies that they used?
• Do mothers' life satisfaction differ statistically significantly according to demographic variables (education level, economic status, working status)?
• Do the happiness-increasing strategies used by mothers differ statistically significantly according to demographic variables (education level, economic status, working status)?
• Is there a statistically significant relationship between the life satisfaction of mothers, the happiness-increasing strategies they apply to their children, the age of mothers, and the age of the children?
• Are the happiness-increasing strategies that mothers apply to their children a statistically significant predictor of their life satisfaction?

Method of research
In this study, correlational research, one of the quantitative research methods, was used.The screening method is aimed at determining and describing the specific characteristics of the selected groups and collecting data in this area.Correlational research is research in which the relationship between two or more variables is examined without interfering with these variables in any way (Büyüköztürk et al., 2008).

Sample group
In this study, criterion sampling was used as one of the purposeful sampling methods.The criterion sampling method represents a part of the universe by meeting a number of predetermined criteria (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2013).When selecting the participants, it is one of the criteria of the study that the participants have at least one child between the ages of 3-5 and that the mothers can read and write.The sample of the research consists of 298 mothers who lives in the Turkish province of Istanbul.The demographic characteristics of the children and parents participating in the study are given in the table below.As can be seen in Table 1, 35.23% of the mothers who participated in the study were 28-33 years old, 31.88% were 34-39 years old, 17.45% were 40-45 years old, 13.42% were 22-27 years old, 1.34% were 46-51 years old, and 0.67% were 52 years or older; 67 of the children of the mothers participating in the study (22.48%) were 3 years old, 114 (38.26%) were 4 years old, and 117 (39.26%) were 5 years old.The majority of mothers (n=88, 29.5%) had an undergraduate degree, 25.5% had a high school degree, 15.8% had a secondary school degree, 13.4% had a primary school degree, and 4% had a graduate degree.The number of working mothers (n=149, 50%) is equal to the number of non-working mothers (n=149, 50%).The vast majority of families (n=217, 72.8%) have medium economic status, 22.8% have low economic status, and 4.4% have high economic status.

Data collection tools
In this study, as a data collection tool, the "Demographic Information Form", the "Scale for determining the happiness-increasing strategies used by mothers" developed by Eryılmaz and Sapsağlam (2018), and the "Life Satisfaction Scale" adapted to Turkish by Yetim (1991) were used.
In the "Demographic Information Form", questions related to mother and child age, education level, working status, and economic status of mothers are included.While creating the demographic information form, questions that would reveal the identity information of the participants were not included.
The "Scale for Determining Happiness-increasing Strategies Used by Mothers" developed by Eryılmaz and Sapsağlam (2018) is of 4-point likert type and consists of 12 items.The scale consists of four sub-dimensions: physical contact, playing games, satisfying desires, taking them on a walk.The reliability of these sub-dimensions was determined by the Cronbach alpha value.The Cronbach value of the physical contact sub-dimension is 0.85, the playing games subdimension is 0.70, the satisfying desires sub-dimension is 0.63, and the Cronbach value of the taking them on a walk sub-dimension is 0.61.The total alpha value of the scale was found to be 0.72.
The "Life Satisfaction Scale" adapted to Turkish by Yetim (1991) consists of 5 items.It is a 7-point likert type and is evaluated as strongly disagree (1 point), disagree (2 points), partially disagree (3 points), undecided (4 points), agree (5 points), partially agree (6 points), and strongly agree (7 points).While 5 points is the lowest score that can be taken from the scale, 35 points is the highest score that can be taken from the scale.The Cronbach alpha value of the scale was found to be 0.86 by Yetim (1991).

Analysis of Data
After the data of the study were collected, they were entered into the SPSS package program.First, the extreme values were determined and, as a result of the perception of four data as extreme values in the analysis, these four data were excluded from the analysis.Before starting the analysis of the data, the normality test of the scores obtained from the measurement tools was performed and the skewness and kurtosis values were examined.The skewness and kurtosis values of all continuous variables in the study are between -1.96 and +1.96.The fact that the skewness and kurtosis values of the variables are between -1.96 and +1.96 indicates that the variables have a normal distribution (Can, 2019).Due to the normal distribution of the data, t test and single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for independent samples which are parametric tests in differentiation tests.In the analysis of the data, first, mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis values were calculated for the descriptive statistics related to the life satisfaction levels of the mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they applied.T-test and single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed for independent samples with differentiation tests to examine the differences between the life satisfaction levels of the mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they applied according to variables such as education level, economic status, and working status.Then, Pearson moments multiplication correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between mothers' life satisfaction levels, happiness-increasing strategies, age of mother, and child age, and multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the predictive power of the independent variable (happiness-enhancing strategies) to the dependent variable (life satisfaction).

RESULTS
In this section, the findings of the analysis made in line with the general and sub-objectives of the research are included.

Descriptive statistics on mothers' life satisfaction and levels of happiness-increasing strategies applied
The results of the descriptive analysis of the life satisfaction and happiness-increasing strategies of the mothers participating in the study are given in Table 2 2 is examined, it is seen that the average level of life satisfaction of mothers is 18.85, the average level of happiness-increasing strategies is 37.96, the average of physical contact sub-dimension is 10.48, the average of the sub-dimension of playing games is 9.89, satisfying desires is 8.77, and taking the child for a walk is 8.81.In addition, the acceptability limits of Skewness and Kurtosis values of the variables of the study is specified in the field literature (Can, 2019); therefore, it can be said that the Skewness and Kurtosis values of the variables of the study are within the relevant limits and the data have univariate normality.

Findings for comparing mothers' life satisfaction and happiness-increasing strategies according to demographic characteristics
In this part of the study, the results of the comparison according to the demographic characteristics of the life satisfaction of the mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they applied are included.

Differentiation of mothers' life satisfaction and happiness-increasing strategies according to mother's education level
Single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine whether the life satisfaction of the mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they applied differed according to the maternal education level.The findings of the relevant analysis are shown in Table 3 and Table 4.When Table 3 is examined, it is observed that the life satisfaction levels of the mothers showed a significant difference according to their education levels (F=8.546;p<.05).In the Scheffe test, which was conducted to determine in which groups there was significant difference, it was seen that the significant difference was between the primary-undergraduate, primary-graduate, secondary-undergraduate, and high school-undergraduate groups.When the group averages are examined, it is seen that life satisfaction levels increase as the mother's education level increases.When Table 4 is examined, it is observed that the happiness-increasing strategies applied by the mothers did not show a significant difference according to their education levels (F=1.590;p>.05).This finding suggests that the happiness-increasing strategies employed by mothers are independent of their level of education.

Differentiation of mothers' life satisfaction and happiness-increasing strategies according to mother's working status
T-test was performed for independent samples to determine whether the life satisfaction of the mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they applied differed according to the mother's working status.The findings of the relevant analysis are given in Table 5 and Table 6.When Table 5 is examined, it is seen that the life satisfaction levels of the mothers did not show a significant difference according to the mother's working status (t=1.903;p>.05).This finding suggests that mothers' life satisfaction levels are independent of maternal working status.When Table 6 is examined, it is seen that the happiness-increasing strategies applied by the mothers did not show a significant difference according to the mother's working status (t=1.903;p>.05).This finding shows that the happiness-increasing strategies applied by mothers are independent of maternal working status.

Differentiation of mothers' life satisfaction and happiness-increasing strategies according to economic status
Single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine whether the life satisfaction of mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they applied differed according to economic status.The findings of the relevant analysis are set out in Table 7 and Table 8.  7 is examined, it is observed that the life satisfaction levels of the mothers showed a significant difference according to economic status (F=39.907;p<.05).In the Scheffe test, it was seen that the significant difference was between the low-medium, low-high, and medium-high groups.When the group averages are examined, it is seen that the life satisfaction levels of the mothers' increase as the economic status increases.When Table 8 is examined, it is observed that the happiness-increasing strategy applied by the mothers showed a significant difference according to the economic status (F=6.347;p<.05).In the Scheffe test, it was seen that the significant difference was between the lowmiddle groups.When the group averages were examined, it was seen that the happinessincreasing strategies applied by the mothers who stated their economic status as low were the and the happiness-increasing strategies levels of the mothers their economic status as middle were the highest.

The relationships between mother age, child age, life satisfaction and happiness-increasing strategies they apply
Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between mother age, child age, life satisfaction, and the levels of happiness-increasing strategies they implemented.Table 9 shows the findings obtained as a result of the analysis.When Table 9 is examined, there is a very weak and insignificant negative relationship between mothers' level of life satisfaction and maternal age (r=-.003;p<.05) and a very weak and insignificant positive relationship between child age (r=.017; p<.05).In addition, there is a very weak and insignificant negative relationship (r=-.102; p<.05) between the happinessincreasing strategies applied by the mothers and the maternal age (r=-.102;p<.05) and a very weak and insignificant positive relationship between the child's age (r=.059; p<.05).
It was seen that there was a very weak positive significant relationship between the life satisfaction levels of the mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they applied (r=.190; p>.01).In addition, there is a weak and significant positive relationship with the physical contact sub-dimension (r=.278; p>.01), which is one of the sub-dimensions of life satisfaction and happiness-increasing strategies (r=.278; p>.01), and a weakly significant positive relationship with the playing games sub-dimension (r=.287) ; p>.01), a very weak and meaningless positive relationship with the sub-dimension of satisfying the desires (r=.027; p<.05), and a very weak and meaningless positive relationship with the sub-dimension of taking the child for a walk (r=.063; p<.05).

Findings on the prediction of mothers' life satisfaction by happiness-increasing strategies applied by mothers
Multiple linear regression analyses were performed based on the results of the relationship between the life satisfaction levels of the mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they applied (physical contact, playing games, satisfying desires, and taking the child for a walk).In this context, the variable of happiness-increasing strategies used by mothers as predictors of life satisfaction was included in the analysis.Table 10 shows the results of multiple linear regression analysis.As a result of the Multiple Linear Regression analysis conducted to determine the extent to which physical contact, playing games, satisfying desires, and taking the child for a walk predicted the life satisfaction levels of the mothers, it was seen that the related variables explained 11.9% of the total variance in life satisfaction in a meaningful way.When the order of importance of the variables explaining the life satisfaction levels of the mothers and their significance alone were examined, the playing games variable (β=.273; p<.05) and the physical contact variable (β=.174; p<.05), to satisfy desires (β=-.100;p>.05), and to taking the child for a walk (β=-.084;p<.05).

CONCLUSION, DISCUSSION, and SUGGESTIONS
This study aimed to examine the relationship between the life satisfaction of mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they use for their children.
As a result of the research, it was seen that the life satisfaction levels of the mothers showed a significant difference according to their education and the life levels increased as the education level of the mothers increased.It was seen that the findings of the studies conducted by Şener (2017) and Karande and Kulkarni (2009) were similar to the findings of this study.On the other hand, Keser (2005) and Yılmaz and Altınoluk (2009) have found that people with high levels of education have low life satisfaction levels.Akandere et.al (2009) found that there was no significant difference between the life satisfaction and education level of but the life of fathers with undergraduate and high school degrees was higher than that of secondary and primary school graduates.In the increase in the of education the person to discover their own abilities and achieve their goals and self-realization.At the same time, it is thought that as the knowledge and experience of individuals with high education levels increases, they will work in higher quality jobs and their social environment will expand, thus their life satisfaction will increase.As a result of this research, it was seen that the happiness-increasing strategies applied by the mothers did not show a significant difference according to their education levels.When the literature is examined, it is seen that there is research supporting this finding.Sapsağlam et.al (2021), in their research examining the career compatibility and happiness-increasing strategies of preschool teachers, found that the levels of happiness-increasing strategies did not differ significantly according to the education level variable.Contrary to this finding, there are also studies in the literature that report a significant relationship between education level and happiness-increasing strategies.In the research conducted by Baltacı (2020), it was concluded that mothers at high school and lower education levels applied higher levels of happinessincreasing strategies than mothers at undergraduate and graduate education levels.The fact that some results in the field literature are different may be related to the research sample.
As a result of the research, it was seen that the life satisfaction levels of the mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they applied did not show a significant difference according to the mother's working status, and the life satisfaction levels of the mothers and the happinessincreasing strategies they applied were independent of their working status.Contrary to these findings, there are studies reporting that the relationship between life satisfaction and work status is significant.In the study conducted by Shrivastava and Singh (2022), which examined the health and nutrition status of working and non-working mothers, it was found that the life satisfaction scores of working mothers were higher than the life satisfaction scores of non-working mothers.In the study conducted by Babahanoğlu (2020), it was found that there is a relationship between life satisfaction and working status and that working mothers generally have high life satisfaction levels.In the study conducted by Baltacı (2020), it was found that nonworking mothers used more happiness-increasing strategies for their children than working mothers.
In another finding obtained in the study, it was seen that the life satisfaction levels of the mothers showed a significant difference according to the economic status, and the mothers with low economic level received lower scores than the mothers with medium and high economic levels.In other words, as a result of this study, it was determined that as the economic level of mothers increased, their life satisfaction levels increased.When the literature is examined, it is seen that there are studies supporting this result.Güneş and Demircioğlu (2018), in a study conducted with 201 mothers with children between the ages of 0-6, found that there was a statistically significant relationship between the level of the family and the mother's living level.Similarly, Aksel (2018), in her study in which mothers with children between the ages of 0-6 examined variables such as psychological well-being, life satisfaction, learned strength, and perceived social support, found that mothers with high income status had higher psychological well-being levels.Avşaroğlu et al. (2021) and Akarsu (2014) also found in their studies that there is a relationship between economic level and life satisfaction, and that life satisfaction increases as the economic level increases.
As a result of the research, it was seen that the happiness-increasing strategies applied by the mothers showed a significant difference according to the economic situation.It has been found that mothers with low economic status use less happiness-increasing strategies than those with medium economic status.In his study, Kalafat (2021) found that there is a significant relationship between the strategies that increase subjective well-being and the economic situation.The economy has a significant impact on people's happiness, as it does on all areas of life (Badri et al., 2022).A person needs material resources to provide, meet, and satisfy their needs such as nutrition, health, shelter, etc.With the economic situation at a level that can fulfill these needs, the wishes and expectations of the person will be met, and the happiness and life satisfaction of the person will increase with it.
As a result of the research, no relationship was found between the life satisfaction levels of the mothers and the maternal age and the age of the child.When similar research is examined in the literature, there are findings that there is no significant relationship between the age of mothers and their life satisfaction (Babahanoğlu, 2020;Recepoğlu & Tümlü, 2015;Sumer, 2018).The findings of these studies coincide with this finding of the research.In addition, as a result of the research, no significant relationship was found between the happiness-increasing strategies applied by the mothers and the maternal age and the age of the child.
According to the results of this study, it was found that there was a significant relationship between the life satisfaction levels of the mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they applied.It has been shown that as the person's life satisfaction increases, behaviors such as taking care of their relatives and loved ones, giving importance to their development, and helping and supporting the solution of their problems also increase (Diener & Seligman, 2004;Kılıçarslan, 2012).Mothers who are satisfied with their lives have a positive outlook on life and are more sensitive to meeting their children's needs and increasing their happiness (Nikolaou, 2012).Mothers who are satisfied with life go to the playground more often with their children and participate more in family participation activities the child's learning process (Berger & Spiess, 2011;Giallo et al., 2013).It can be said that mothers who are more satisfied with life pay close attention to their children and meet their needs and try to make them happy by supporting their development.
Based on the results of the relationship between the life satisfaction levels of the mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they applied (physical contact, playing games, satisfying desires, and taking the child for a walk), it was seen that the related variables significantly explained 11.9% of the total variance in life satisfaction.According to this conclusion, it can be argued that the happiness-increasing strategies used by mothers for their children alone do not have a positive effect on their life satisfaction, but other variables are also effective.It can be interpreted that with the use of happiness-enhancing strategies, an increase in the life satisfaction of mothers can be expected.
Since a study is not found in the literature that reveals the relationship between the life satisfaction of mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they use for their children, these findings of the research should be supported and compared by other studies.Also, only mothers who lives in Istanbul took part in the study.The sample can be kept wider by conducting a study on mothers who lives in different cities in Türkiye.Studies can be carried out in which the happiness-increasing strategies and life satisfaction applied by mothers from different cultures are examined and compared.When a research is done with mothers from different ethnicities and cultures, different findings can be achieved.A wider viewpoint may be provided by intercultural study.
In the study, life satisfaction of mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they use for their children in relation to education level, economic status, working status was also investigated.Researchers who want to work on this issue can conduct research with other factors and variables that may have an impact on life satisfaction and the use of happinessincreasing strategies, such as the marital status of the mother, the number of children, and the status of mothers working in private or government institutions.
In this study, the relational screening method was used to assess the relationship between the life satisfaction of mothers and the happiness-increasing strategies they use for their children.In future research, qualitative methods can be used to examine this relationship in depth.
Mothers with 3-5-year-old children participated in the study.Similar study can be conducted with mothers have children from different age groups.Also, parents can be given informative lectures on the use of happiness-increasing strategies for their children, and family education programs can be prepared on the subject.

Table 1 .
Information on the characteristics of the participant group .

Table 3 .
The fact that the life satisfaction levels of mothers vary according to the level of education

Table 4 .
The fact that the happiness-increasing strategies applied by mothers differ according to their level of education

Table 5 .
The fact that the life satisfaction of mothers differs according to the mother's working status

Table 6 .
The fact that the happiness-increasing strategies applied by mothers differ according to the mother's working status

Table 7 .
The fact that the life satisfaction levels of mothers vary according to economic status

Table 8 .
The fact that the happiness-increasing strategy applied by mothers differs according to economic status

Table 10 .
Results of multiple linear regression analysis on prediction of mothers' life satisfaction levels