The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic strongly affected public health globally (1). With the surge of people infected with COVID-19 and the strict execution of public health limitations (e.g., quarantine, physical distancing legislation, blocking colleges, and prohibiting large student gatherings) have increased the pandemic effect leading to affecting life satisfaction for people (2, 3). Due to this pandemic, face-to-face classes cancelled in over 194 countries, influencing over 91% of students (4, 5). As a result, undergraduates faced more stressors, due to the protection and prevention measures affecting education, as in-person activities interrupted, virtual classrooms using the internet were developed worldwide, resulting in increasing levels of psychological distress symptoms (e.g. stress and anxiety) and decreasing satisfaction with life (2, 6).
Life satisfaction usually indicates a judgmental process where people holistically assess the status of their lives according to their criteria and distinct (7). Life satisfaction is an important indicator of successful adaptation to life, with advantageous for longevity, health, and social interactions (8, 9). Among factors associated with increased life satisfaction, resilience and social support (10), hope and optimism (11), healthy family relationships, quality of family context and positive family climate (12–14) are positive predictors, while depression, stress, anxiety, and COVID-19 uncertainty reduce life satisfaction (15–17). There was a significant decrease in well-being and particularly, life satisfaction (18, 19). Similarly, studies performed in the population of different countries showed that the COVID-19 pandemic reduced life satisfaction in university students (20–22). A cross-sectional study reported that university students’ life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic was below the medium level (23). It was confirmed in another study that a higher level of fear of COVID-19 was linked to a lower level of life satisfaction in university students (2).
As mentioned above, social adaptation to the COVID-19, the perception of stress, and some epidemic control measures reduced the life satisfaction among university students (24, 25). Therefore, factors influencing students’ life satisfaction in the pandemic should be explored. Among various factors that may be associated with higher or lower levels of life satisfaction, the family functioning may play a fundamental role (26). Family functioning is the quality of interactions between family members, and also organization, relationships, support to each other and expectations (27). Also, based on the Olson’s Circumplex Model of Family Systems (28), there are three dimensions of family function: adaptability (how the family system can balance change and stability), cohesion (the ability to preserve powerful emotional bonds between family members, and mutual communication (it increases family cohesion, adaptability and flexibility) (29).
This model is a theoretical framework focusing on life satisfaction and family balance relationship. Balanced family in this model is without too much consensus or too little interaction within the family has a positive effect on individual’s life satisfaction (30), which has been approved by some previous studies. For instance, high level of life satisfaction showed a strong association with family function (31). To be more precise, Huang et al (32) reported an association between cohesive family relationships and life satisfaction in postgraduate medical students. Accordingly, we proposed our following first hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1
There is a significantly positive correlation between university students’ life satisfaction and family functioning.
Satisfaction with life is influenced by family functioning and also psychological resources (33, 34). According to the Broaden-and-Build Theory, individual’s adaptation to the society can be promoted by positive emotions through creating sustainable psychological resources, leading to predicting their judgments of life satisfaction (35). Positive psychological resources are helpful for adaptation to changing demands and improving emotional stability in face of crisis, like pandemic, leading to enhancing life satisfaction (36). Hope, as a positive psychological resource is helpful for reshaping self-confidence and improving capability, making people able to follow a better state (through addressing dilemmas). It includes physiology, psychology, and sociology, making people able to establish positive values and beliefs, and participate in more pro-social behaviors, which all let people to overcome problems. People with higher hope agree more with their goals and preserve higher motivation in following them, and have a tendency to be satisfied with their achievements in life (37).
Most cross-sectional studies have suggested that hope has a strong correlation with higher life satisfaction (38, 39). Also, longitudinal studies have indicated that hope is a crucial predictor of latter life satisfaction following the control of the initial life satisfaction (40). Consistent with Olson’s Circumplex Model of Family Systems (28) and Broaden-and-Build Theory (35), family function may promote satisfaction with life via hope which is considered an enhancing factor. The higher the degree to which a person regards quality of interactions among family members (family functioning) as important, their ability to see a desirable outcome as a genuine possibility (hope) is higher (41, 42). In this context, it can be assumed that hope and family functioning protect against negative emotions during COVID-19 pandemic and improve life satisfaction (43). In addition, hope can mediate the relationship between life satisfaction and family function (11, 44). Accordingly, we proposed our following second hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2
Hope has a mediating role between family functioning and university students’ life satisfaction.
As discussed, it is suggested that the association between life satisfaction and family functioning goes beyond the direct link and other direct and indirect factors can further explain the relationship between the two. Grounded Olson’s Circumplex Model of Family Systems (28) and Kumpfer Resilience Model (45), we proposes resilience as a probable mediator between family functioning and life satisfaction among university students. Resilience is the dynamic process and capacity of adaptively to overcome adversity and stress while preserving normal physical and psychological functioning (46). It plays a role in reaching a higher level of balance or returning to the initial balance resulting in life satisfaction and positive compatibility (47). Those with resilience are assertive with favorable social skills, and can their emotions properly. Those with less resilience are not able to cope with traumatic situations and are at the risk of develop depression and anxiety affecting their life satisfaction (48).
Resilience is positively associated with life satisfaction (49, 50). For example, Prayag et al (51) also examined effects of resilience on life satisfaction and confirmed its positive effects on employees. Accordingly, Baykal (52) found that psychological resilience can promote life satisfaction during COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, a cross-sectional study of 1032 college students during the COVID-19 outbreak showed that college students with higher levels of emotional resilience report higher level of life satisfaction (24). On the other hand, empirical studies showed that resilience is positively associated with family functioning (53, 54). Moreover, some studies have also shown that the components of resilience are directly linked to those of family functioning, especially family cohesion (55, 56), making resilience an important variable to explore in relation to family functioning. Accordingly, the researcher expects life satisfaction can be considered the consequence of healthy family functioning and resiliency. According to these understandings, we proposed the following third hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3
resilience has a mediating role between family functioning and university students’ life satisfaction.
Altogether, higher life satisfaction can predict future mental state of individuals (57), and improve college students’ academic well-being and performance (58); lower life satisfaction can predict mental dysfunction (59). Hence, college students should improve their life satisfaction to grow up healthily and adapt to college. Hope and resilience have been linked to the core components of family functioning, and have been linked to life satisfaction; however, they have been less studied as mediating variables between the two, and haven’t been studied in relation to life satisfaction in Iranian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, this research was conducted to investigate the mediating role of resilience and hope in the relationship between family functioning and life satisfaction in university students.