The meaning of life and self-esteem in young people with intellectual disabilities

The meaning of life does not simply appear, but is acquired socially, through interaction with others, based on cultural norms. The meanings identified in any of us are not born suddenly, out of nothing, but must be constructed because nature endows us with needs but does not give us meaning. The person can choose, in the best case, from the meanings offered by the cultural norms and the society. Sometimes the meaning of a life can be represented by a chaotic accumulation of obligations, projects and feelings, which seem to have some meaning. A remarkable difference between societies and structures is the extent to which they impose a certain set of beliefs and beliefs on their members. The paper comprises two distinct parts: a first part presents the theoretical framework of the research and a second part in which the actual research is included. Thus, the theoretical framework: Chapter 1: "Personality modeling by the idea of ​​the meaning of life", Chapter 2: "Models of self-image in young people" and Chapter 3: "Development of personality and self-image in young people with intellectual disabilities." The second part of the paper, the research, includes three chapters: Chapter 4: "Research methodology", Chapter 5: "Presentation, analysis and interpretation of research data" and Chapter 6: "Conclusions". The objectives of the research are: to identify the similarities and differences regarding the manifestation of self-esteem in young people with intellectual disabilities and young people with normal intellect; highlighting the influence of personality development of young people with intellectual disabilities and young people with normal intellect determined by self-esteem; identification of compensatory elements in the development of personality and self-image of young people with intellectual disabilities and young people with normal intellect; highlighting structures of the meaning of life in young people with intellectual disabilities.