The Relationship between Self-Acceptance, Decision-Making Styles, and Hope for Life among Orphaned and Abandoned Students

This research set out to examine the relationship between self-acceptance, decision-making styles, and hope for life among orphaned and abandoned students. This study had a descriptive, correlational design. The statistical population of the study comprised all orphaned and abandoned students in Kerman in 2016-17 from among whom 154 adolescents were selected through random multi-stage cluster sampling method. It is noteworthy that these students were living at centers operated by the Welfare Organization. Research instruments included Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (Chamberlain & Haaga, 2001), General Decision-making Styles Questionnaire (Scott & Bruce, 1995), and the Adult Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1991). Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis were utilized to analyze the data. Results showed that there was a positive, significant correlation between unconditional self-acceptance and hope for life; whereas, a negative, significant association was observed between conditional self-acceptance and hope for life. Furthermore, only a positive, significant relationship was observed between rational decision-making and hope for life. Results of regression analysis revealed that unconditional self-acceptance and all dimensions of decision-making styles, except for avoidant decision-making style, play a significant role in predicting students’ hope for life. Considering the critical role of hope for life in individuals’ success and management of emotions, providing effective training in this field can enhance the adaptation of orphaned and abandoned students.