Abstract: The article presents the results of a study of the relationship between life satisfaction and the image of the future for people living in a difficult life situation. A qualitative analysis of the respondents' answers to open-ended questions allowed us to identify three groups depending on the experience of encountering a difficult life situation. In addition, the following questionnaires were used: Satisfaction With Life Scale of E. Diener in the adaptation of E.N. Osin and D.A. Leontiev; the Life Orientation Test of C. Carver and M. Scheier in the adaptation of T.O. Gordeeva, O.A. Sychev, E.N. Osin; the questionnaire «Professional time perspective of the future» H. Zacher and M. Frese in the adaptation of T.Y. Bazarov, A.V. Paramuzov; the questionnaire «Aspirations Index» by E.L. Deci and R.M. Ryan in the adaptation by T.D. Vasilenko, Y.A. Kotelnikova, A.V. Selina. It was revealed that respondents who are in a difficult life situation have significantly lower life satisfaction rates and a more pessimistic vision of the future. But regression analysis showed that for these participants, various aspects of the image of the future, namely generalized positive expectations of the future, focusing on opportunities in a professional environment, orientation towards building close relationships, act as resources of life satisfaction. In the group where respondents had overcome life difficulties in the recent past and in the group in which participants reported no recent experience of encountering difficult situations, the characteristics of the image of the future turned out to be unrelated to life satisfaction. The scientific novelty of the study lies in obtaining more detailed data on the contribution of the image of the future to life satisfaction in overcoming a difficult life situation.

Keywords: coping, psychological well-being, focusing on opportunities, pessimism, optimism, future time perspective, image of the future, psychological resources, life satisfaction, difficult life situation