Abstract

School participation is important, since it impacts the well-being of all students. In the case of students with disabilities, support and inclusion conveyed by teachers and classmates in regular lessons are associated with higher levels of subjective well-being. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of school participation and subjective well-being of a convenience sample of subsidized private and municipal schools located in 5 districts of 2 regions of Chile that had a School Integration Program. The final sample comprised 120 schoolchildren (50 with a motor, visual, or hearing disability and 70 with no disabilities) between 14 and 19 years old (M = 16.25, SD = 1.65 years). Participants were evaluated with the following scales: school participation (John-Akinola & Nic-Gabhainn, 2014), multidimensional student life satisfaction (Huebner, 2001), and positive and negative affect for children and adolescents (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). Descriptive statistics, correlations, and comparisons of means between the groups (according to disability status) are presented. Results indicate a direct relationship between school participation and subjective well-being in all evaluated students. No differences in school participation were found between students with and without disabilities, but subjective well-being did differ among them. Specifically, students with disabilities showed lower levels of self-satisfaction, family satisfaction, and friend satisfaction than students without disabilities; in addition, students with motor disabilities displayed higher levels of negative affect than those with visual and hearing disabilities.