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Presence of meaning, search for meaning, religiousness, satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms among a diverse Israeli sample
Abstract
The present study explored the structure and correlates of meaning in life (MIL) among an Israeli sample. The sample consisted of 559 adults. The average age of participants was 48.24 and 61.3% of them were females. Participants provided demographic information and completed measures of MIL, satisfaction with life, and depressive symptoms. The MIL Questionnaire showed a very good fit for the proposed 2‐factor model (i.e. presence of meaning, search for meaning) to the data collected from the current sample. Presence of meaning correlated positively with both search for meaning and satisfaction with life, and negatively with depressive symptoms. Search for meaning was positively and weakly tied to satisfaction with life, but was unrelated to depressive symptoms. Religiousness appeared as a significant moderator between the two meaning factors, and between them and life satisfaction. Specifically, as religiousness became stronger: (a) the link between presence of meaning and search for meaning became weaker; (b) the link between presence of meaning and life satisfaction became stronger and (c) the link between search for meaning and life satisfaction became weaker. The findings suggest that there are differential implications of presence search for meaning on the health and well‐being, and the important role religiousness plays in this regard.
... Numerous studies have highlighted the relevance of differentiating and searching for meaning in their relationships with other variables. For instance, positive links were found with subjective wellbeing [14], career adaptability [15], and passion for leisure [16], while negative links were shown with anxiety [17][18][19], uncertainty tolerance [20], and burnout [21]. In this study, we wanted to extend current literature by comparing the distinctive relationships of sense of community and authenticity with the presence of and search for meaning. ...
... The result related to the relationship between sense of community and presence of meaning was consistent with previous studies [56,57]. Our results also highlighted the relevance of distinguishing presence of and search for meaning in their relationships with other constructs [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. In addition, the positive and moderate to strong correlations of age with presence of and search for meaning were similar to the study conducted by Steger et al. [74]. ...
This research explored the effects of sense of community and authenticity on meaning in life in social communities in France. The sample included one hundred participants from four social communities (i.e., political, religious, virtual learning, and mutual aid). The Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the Sense of Community Scale, and the Authenticity Scale were administered to the respondents. The correlational analyses indicated that sense of community and authenticity were more related to the presence of meaning (r = 0.29 and r = 0.54, respectively) than to the search for meaning (r = −0.39 and r = 0.03, respectively). In addition, no interaction effects were found between sense of community and the three dimensions of authenticity, suggesting that the level of authenticity did not influence the relationships between sense of community and presence of or search for meaning. The practical and research implications of the study for social communities in the field of existential psychology were discussed.
... The process of searching for meaning in life is considered by some theorists as healthy and positive (Frankl, 1963). For example, search for meaning was found to be positively related to LS in some studies (e.g., Steger et al., 2008;Datu, 2015;Russo-Netzer, 2019;Abu-Raiya et al., 2021), as well as with positive outcomes such as open-mindedness, ambition, and absorption (Steger et al., 2006(Steger et al., , 2008. ...
Introduction
Synchronicity refers to the psychological process of meaningful coincidences. The present study aimed to build and expand upon a model of synchronicity awareness and meaning-detecting (REM)—receptiveness (R) as a precondition for an exceptional encounter (E) triggering emotions and meaning-detecting (M)—by assessing the prevalence of the phenomenon and its associations with well-being.
Methods and Results
Results from two studies reported here employing adult community samples ( N = 198 and N = 440) demonstrate coherent, replicable structure and good internal reliability for a 35-item, two-factor Synchronicity Awareness and Meaning-Detecting (SAMD) Scale. Synchronicity awareness (SA) and meaning-detecting (MD) scores were significantly associated with some of the Big-5 personality dimensions and tolerance for ambiguity, as well as with search for and presence of meaning. Furthermore, process mediation models showed: (a) synchronicity awareness mediated the relationship between search for meaning and meaning-detecting, and (b) optimism and presence of meaning in life partly mediated the relationship between meaning-detecting and life satisfaction.
Discussion
The findings suggest the importance of synchronicity experiences and hold important conceptual and practical implications for understanding processes of meaning making from unexpected events and their potential contribution to individuals’ well-being.
... With respect to the third hypothesis (H 3 ), POM was positively related to life satisfaction, supporting H 3a . This finding is consistent with prior evidence indicating POM is positively linked with life satisfaction (Abu-Raiya et al., 2021;Yuan et al., 2021). Meanwhile, POM was found to serve as Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. ...
Adolescents’ life satisfaction is currently a hot topic in positive psychology research. Working from the broaden‑and‑build theory, this article aims to reveal the relationship between dispositional awe and life satisfaction, as well as the potential mediating roles of mindfulness and meaning in life (i.e., presence of meaning, search for meaning). Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate this model in a sample of 610 adolescents who completed a series of self-report measures quantifying dispositional awe, mindfulness, meaning in life, and life satisfaction. The results demonstrate that mindfulness, presence of meaning, and search for meaning independently mediate the positive association between dispositional awe and life satisfaction, supporting the broaden‑and‑build theory of life satisfaction. Serial mediation analysis further indicated that “mindfulness-presence of meaning” constitute chain mediators in the dispositional awe-life satisfaction relationship. These findings effectively extend the broaden‑and‑build theory and indicate for the first time that dispositional awe may promote adolescents’ life satisfaction through mindfulness and the importance of presence of meaning.
... Empirical research has started to examine cultural differences related to meaning in life. For example, while the search for meaning was found to be negatively related to the presence of meaning among U.S. participants, it was positively related to the presence of meaning among Japanese individuals (Steger et al., 2008) and Israelis (e.g., Abu-Raiya et al., 2021;Russo-Netzer, 2019). This suggests that the presence and search for meaning may evoke different understandings in different cultures (Steger et al., 2008). ...
... This is often manifested in the extent to which religious laws are observed, especially given that Judaism's focus is more on social connectedness and behavior than faith and spirituality, compared with other religions (e.g., Morris, 1996;Telushkin, 1991). Whereas ultra-Orthodox Jews strictly observe religious rules, secular individuals do not (Abu-Raiya et al., 2021;Levin, 2011). Given that Orthodox Judaism "... is based on a halakhic (legal) system which legislates precise modes of behavior for virtually any situation in which a person finds himself" (Telushkin, 1991, p. 241), ultra-Orthodox also strictly adhere to distinctive behavioral norms, religious practices, and community discipline (Berman, 2000;Freund & Band-Winterstein, 2017). ...
The present research adopted both an individual and a sociocultural approach to
expand previous knowledge of the mechanisms underlying reported variance in life
satisfaction. Given the gratitude-oriented lifestyle and daily rituals of the ultra-Orthodox
Jewish community, gratitude may serve as a central vehicle to its members’ high
reported levels of life satisfaction. Thus, Study 1 explored the mediating role of
gratitude through a cross-cultural comparison between ultra-Orthodox and secular
samples. Study 2 explored the moderating effect of optimism on the relationship
between the sociocultural group and gratitude, which, in turn, affects life satisfaction.
Based on two matched samples of ultra-Orthodox and secular individuals, the findings
indicate that the relationship between cultural group and life satisfaction was fully
mediated by gratitude. Moreover, optimism was found to moderate the relationship
between cultural group and gratitude so that the difference in gratitude levels between
the two cultural groups was higher for individuals with low levels of optimism. The
findings hold significant conceptual and practical implications for a better
understanding of life satisfaction and its contributors.
Difficulty in the experience of meaning has been both theoretically and empirically linked with depression. This cross-sectional study first aimed to replicate the association between difficulty in meaning experience and depression in a sample of 77 psychotherapists and counselors (77.1% females; M age : 49; SD age = 12.25). Second, this study wanted to extend the body of research findings by investigating whether existential anxiety, and focusing manner, that is, the ability to attend to one’s bodily felt experiences, mediated the relation between meaning experience and the severity of depression. Surprisingly, meaning experience did not show a significant association with severity of depression. Furthermore, existential anxiety mediated the association between meaning experience and severity of depression. Focusing manner showed no significant mediating role in the relationship between meaning experience and severity of depression. These findings suggest that existential anxiety might be an important underlying mechanism in depressive disorder. Addressing the anxiety evoked by existential questions in the patient’s life might be important in the psychotherapeutic treatment of depression. Future prospective research is needed to further disentangle the relationship between meaning experience, depression, focusing, and existential anxiety.
This study aimed at examining assumptions from Frankl’s (1946/1998) logotherapy and existential analysis. Using an online questionnaire with N = 891 U.K. residents, meaning in life was associated with higher life satisfaction, even when controlling for positive and negative affect. Furthermore, meaning in life intensified the positive effects of family role importance and work role importance on life satisfaction. Lastly, meaning in life neutralised the combined effect of high family strain and high family role importance on lower life satisfaction, but lack of meaning in life aggravated the combined effect of high work strain and high work role importance on lower life satisfaction. This study provides evidence of meaning in life as a source, a contributing factor, and a protective factor of life satisfaction. Helping people to find meaning through fulfilling creative, experiential, and attitudinal values (Frankl, 1950/1996), in personal and/or professional life, is likely to improve life satisfaction.
Abstract
Purpose – Discussions of authenticity in touristic experiences indicate that it is a significant area in the search
for meaning. This study aims to demonstrate that the quest for authenticity in a tourist experience begins in the
pre-travel period by associating it with meaning in life.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via survey from 356 people planning to participate in
tourism activities. The survey included demographic questions, the meaning in life scale and the quest for
authenticity (QfA) scale, designed by previous researchers.
Findings – The analysis revealed that meaning in life levels significantly explained the quest for subjective
authenticity (R2 5 0.303) and objective authenticity (R2 5 0.131) in tourist experiences. The search for objective
authenticity in a tourist experience significantly mediated the relationship between meaning in life and
subjective authenticity.
Research limitations/implications – The research has several limitations. Primarily, the sampling group
of the research consists of Turkish tourists who are planning to participate in tourism mobilities, and mostly
females volunteered to respond in the data collection process. Hence it is necessary to study potential tourists
from other countries for a more generalized conclusion. Second, the authors did not specifically ask the sample
group which forms of tourism they are planning to participate in, heritage and culture, fair, etc. Subsequent
studies may address this distinction and the explanatory power of the independent variable may differ
according to plan to participate in different forms of tourism.
Practical implications – Tourism has an important place in individuals’ search for meaning in life and
authenticity. Because it offers an environment/setting where individuals can find answers to these searches. As
a result of modernism, individuals become alienated from themselves, and their environment and the meanings
they attribute to life are sometimes blurred. Some individuals experiencing this tend towards tourist mobility.
This process individuals go through also includes the need for authenticity. Thus, such tourist behaviors cause
the emergence of different authentic products that can meet the expectations and wishes of individuals.
Social implications – One of the main elements that encourages people to travel is quest for authenticity,
which they feel is lacking in modern life. Thus, tourists are more likely to experience meaning in life based on
subjective experiences than viewed objects.
Originality/value –The study offers three novel findings: individuals seek authenticity in tourist experiences
in order to find meaning in life; quest for authenticity begins in the pre-travel process; and objective
authenticity is necessary to seek subjective authenticity through meaning in life. While a few studies have
investigated these variables, the authenticity literature has neglected the pre-travel phase. However, this needs
attention to better understand authenticity in tourism.
The Ultra-Orthodox community in Israel, characterized by close-knit ties and strong community values, has been particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, both epidemiologically and socially. Accordingly, the current study examined whether the connection between the sense of community and life satisfaction in this population is mediated by meaning in life (MIL). Three hundred and fifty-eight Ultra-Orthodox participants (age range: 30−70; M = 49.50, SD = 10.24) filled out scales assessing MIL, sense of community, and satisfaction with life (SWL), as well as sociodemo-graphic and COVID-19-related scales. Sense of community was linked with increased MIL and life satisfaction. Moreover, the connection between sense of community and life satisfaction was mediated by MIL. This study highlights the roles of sense of community and MIL for Ultra-Orthodox individuals and emphasizes the importance of both concepts for maintaining SWL during COVID-19.
Both meaning in life (MIL) and perceived self-competence (PSC) have been linked to
a sense of calling, and better well-being. To the authors' knowledge, no study has examined MIL or PSC in counselling students. Current counselling students (N = 292) were asked whether studying counselling brought them MIL, and completed the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and an adapted Perceived Competence Scale for
Counselling Students (PCS-CS). Results showed that students with a higher sense of MIL had a higher level of PSC. Over 95% of participants found meaning in their study of counselling, implying that many found it to be a calling. The PCS-CS was found to be reliable, and implications include its potential usefulness in future research on PSC in counselling populations. With MIL and PSC being linked to better workplace well-being, this study implies that trainee counsellors have high levels of these protective factors, with further research warranted to establish whether this is also the case for counselling professionals.
Experiencing both positive emotions and meaning is fundamental to human flourishing. The present study aimed to build and expand upon recent attempts to assess prioritizing positivity, which involves habitual ways of incorporating positive emotions in daily life (Catalino, Algoe and Fredrickson 2014), by assessing the prioritization of meaning in daily life and its associations with well-being. Results from two studies, employing adult community samples (N=107 and N=251) demonstrated coherent, replicable factor structure and good internal reliability for the 12-item scale of prioritizing meaning. Prioritizing meaning was positively associated with life satisfaction, happiness, positive emotions, sense of coherence, gratitude and presence of meaning, beyond the effect of prioritizing positivity, thus demonstrating the possibility that prioritizing meaning makes a distinctive contribution to well-being.
Process mediation models showed that prioritizing meaning is associated with the experience of meaning which in turn mediates the beneficial effects of prioritizing meaning on a variety of well-being indicators. Prioritizing meaning was also directly associated with well-being indicators underscoring its potential role in affecting well-being. Furthermore, prioritizing meaning was found to significantly mediate the effect of search for meaning on all indicators of well-being other than sense of coherence. The findings suggest the importance of prioritizing meaning and hold significant conceptual and practical implications for understanding processes of meaning making and their potential effects on individuals’ well-being.
Objective:
Research on searching for meaning in life has focused on trait level relationships rather than within-person relationships. Our goal was to examine within-person relationships between daily states of searching for meaning in life, daily states of presence of meaning in life, and daily states of well-being.
Method:
To advance our understanding of searching for meaning in life, we conducted a daily diary study with two samples in which 254 undergraduate students (Mage = 18.54, SD = 1.55, 66.9% female) completed daily reports of presence and search for meaning in life and well-being for two weeks (n = 3,288).
Results:
Between persons, search was negatively related to presence and well-being. In contrast, within persons, daily search was positively related to presence and well-being. Relationships between daily search and daily well-being were mediated by daily presence of meaning in life. Lagged analyses indicated that greater search on one day led to greater presence the next day.
Conclusions:
The implications of these within-person findings suggest that researchers should reconsider the potential consequences that occur from searching for meaning in life, including the possibility that greater searching is associated with increased well-being. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
To advance meaning in life (MIL) research, it is crucial to integrate it with the broader meaning literature, which includes important additional concepts (e.g., meaning frameworks) and principles (e.g., terror management). A tripartite view, which conceptualizes MIL as consisting of 3 subconstructs—comprehension, purpose, and mattering—may facilitate such integration. Here, we outline how a tripartite view may relate to key concepts from within MIL research (e.g., MIL judgments and feelings) and within the broader meaning research (e.g., meaning frameworks, meaning making). On the basis of this framework, we review the broader meaning literature to derive a theoretical context within which to understand and conduct further research on comprehension, purpose, and mattering. We highlight how future research may examine the interrelationships among the 3 MIL subconstructs, MIL judgments and feelings, and meaning frameworks.
Despite growing interest in meaning in life, many have voiced their concern over the conceptual refinement of the construct itself. Researchers seem to have two main ways to understand what meaning in life means: coherence and purpose, with a third way, significance, gaining increasing attention. Coherence means a sense of comprehensibility and one’s life making sense. Purpose means a sense of core goals, aims, and direction in life. Significance is about a sense of life’s inherent value and having a life worth living. Although some researchers have already noted this trichotomy, the present article provides the first comprehensible theoretical overview that aims to define and pinpoint the differences and connections between these three facets of meaning. By arguing that the time is ripe to move from indiscriminate understanding of meaning into looking at these three facets separately, the article points toward a new future for research on meaning in life.
The present study was specifically designed to examine the associations among religious commitment, belief in meaning and purpose in life, and psychiatric symptoms among the general public using data from the 2010 Baylor Religion Survey (BRS). The BRS obtained data from a nationwide sample of 1,714 U.S. adults, 1,450 of which are included in the current analyses. The central hypothesis of the study, based on identity theory, was that religious commitment would interact with belief in meaning and purpose in their net associations on psychiatric symptoms: general anxiety, social anxiety, paranoia, obsession, and compulsion. Specifically, it was hypothesized that believing life lacks meaning and purpose will have a more pernicious association among highly religious individuals, than it will among individuals who are less religious. Other hypotheses derived from previous research were also tested. The results confirm the central hypothesis of the study for 4 of the 5 classes of psychiatric symptoms. The results are discussed with respect to identity theory, evolutionary threat assessment systems (ETAS) theory, and the hostile world scenario.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether meaning in life understood in terms of presence, search, and personal meaning is a mediator in the relationships between religious coping and psychological well-being. Associations of religiousness and psychological well-being are complex and suggest the existence of meaning and purpose in their internal structures. Two studies were conducted. In Study 1, presence of meaning in life was a mediator between negative coping and psychological well-being in the scope of a total score and all its dimensions. Search for meaning in life did not mediate the above relations. In Study 2, personal meaning turned out to be a partial mediator between negative coping and psychological well-being. These findings suggest that meaning in life is a crucial element of religious coping and psychological well-being that is used by people as a part of their meaning system to cope with life's difficulties and challenges.
The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) in a South African sample. A multi-cultural group of undergraduate students (N = 326) completed the MLQ and other measures. Descriptive statistics, reliability, inter-item correlations, construct and convergent validity are reported. Internal consistency indices indicate satisfactory reliability for both the Presence of Meaning (MLQ-P) and Search for Meaning (MLQ-S) sub-scales. The theoretically intended two factor structure was supported by the data. The MLQ-P was associated with mental health, satisfaction with life, sense of coherence and spiritual well-being; whereas the MLQ-S was associated with depression. The findings of this study support the applicability of the MLQ for further research on meaning and well-being in a South African context with similar groups.
Pilgrimage on the Road to Santiago is flourishing, even in late modern times characterised by detraditionalisation, individualism and pluralism. A large number of these pilgrims is either not explicitly religious at all, or only moderately religious. Why, then, do they submit to this ancient Christian ritual, and what are the psychological consequences? After a short introduction to the study of implicit religiosity and different perspectives on rituals from the past to today, current research on pilgrimage is reviewed and pilgrimage to Santiago is analysed as a personal ritual from a perspective of implicit religiosity. In the psychological theory of implicit religiosity, rituals are identified as one of three universal religious structures (along with myths and experiences of transcending) with strong meaning-making potential. Personal rituals are defined as formalised patterns of action, pointing beyond the actual event to a particular meaning imbued by the actor. Data from 85 pilgrims on the Road to Santiago are presented. Motives for peregrination, base-line sources of meaning, experienced meaningfulness and crises of meaning are reported, as well as changes in sources of meaning, meaningfulness and crises of meaning immediately after the pilgrimage and four months later. The majority of pilgrims (about two third) is motivated by a “need for clarification.” Multidimensional scaling shows that pilgrims either travel for explicitly religious reasons (conviction) or in search of clarification (quest); they either draw motivation from vertical transcendence (religiosity or spirituality) or from apparently purely secular reasons, such as athletic challenge. Religious and spiritual motives are mostly reported by highly religious individuals. A need for clarification is primarily stated by individuals who suffer from a crisis of meaning. Crises of meaning are significantly more frequent among pilgrims before the journey than in the general population. For the entire sample of pilgrims, the meaning-making potential of pilgrimage is supported by the data. Directly after the journey, as well as four months later, pilgrims experience life as significantly more meaningful, and crises of meaning are overcome. Pilgrims also report a strengthened commitment to vertical selftranscendence, horizontal selftranscendence and selfactualisation. These changes occur independently of the motivation for pilgrimage.
Having a purpose in life has been cited consistently as an indicator of healthy aging for several reasons, including its potential for reducing mortality risk. In the current study, we sought to extend previous findings by examining whether purpose in life promotes longevity across the adult years, using data from the longitudinal Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) sample. Proportional-hazards models demonstrated that purposeful individuals lived longer than their counterparts did during the 14 years after the baseline assessment, even when controlling for other markers of psychological and affective well-being. Moreover, these longevity benefits did not appear to be conditional on the participants' age, how long they lived during the follow-up period, or whether they had retired from the workforce. In other words, having a purpose in life appears to widely buffer against mortality risk across the adult years.
Using Gallup World Poll data, we examined the role of societal wealth for meaning in life across 132 nations. Although life satisfaction was substantially higher in wealthy nations than in poor nations, meaning in life was higher in poor nations than in wealthy nations. In part, meaning in life was higher in poor nations because people in those nations were more religious. The mediating role of religiosity remained significant after we controlled for potential third variables, such as education, fertility rate, and individualism. As Frankl (1963) stated in Man's Search for Meaning, it appears that meaning can be attained even under objectively dire living conditions, and religiosity plays an important role in this search.
We examined the association among anxiety, religiosity, meaning of life and mental health in a nonclinical sample from a Chinese society. Four hundred fifty-one Taiwanese adults (150 males and 300 females) ranging in age from 17 to 73 years (M = 28.9, SD = 11.53) completed measures of Beck Anxiety Inventory, Medical Outcomes Study Health Survey, Perceived Stress Scale, Social Support Scale, and Personal Religiosity Scale (measuring religiosity and meaning of life). Meaning of life has a significant negative correlation with anxiety and a significant positive correlation with mental health and religiosity; however, religiosity does not correlate significantly anxiety and mental health after controlling for demographic measures, social support and physical health. Anxiety explains unique variance in mental health above meaning of life. Meaning of life was found to partially mediate the relationship between anxiety and mental health. These findings suggest that benefits of meaning of life for mental health can be at least partially accounted for by the effects of underlying anxiety.
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between meaning in life and subjective well-being. The sample of the study consisted of 232 university students (171 female / 61male) from Sakarya University. The Satisfaction with Life Scale, The Positive-Negative Affect Scale and The Meaning in Life Questionnaire were used to collect data. In data analysis, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis were used. The findings showed that presence of meaning in life and search for meaning in life significantly predict subjective well-being. According to regression analysis, meaning in life accounts for 34% of the variance within subjective well-being. The findings were discussed and in the light of these findings suggestions for future studies were proposed.
Meaning in life is thought to be important to well-being throughout the human life span. We assessed the structure, levels, and correlates of the presence of meaning in life, and the search for meaning, within four life stage groups: emerging adulthood, young adulthood, middle-age adulthood, and older adulthood. Results from a sample of Internet users (N = 8756) demonstrated the structural invariance of the meaning measure used across life stages. Those at later life stages generally reported a greater presence of meaning in their lives, whereas those at earlier life stages reported higher levels of searching for meaning. Correlations revealed that the presence of meaning has similar relations to well-being across life stages, whereas searching for meaning is more strongly associated with well-being deficits at later life stages.
The primary objectives of this article are (a) to put forth an explicit operational formulation of positive human health that goes beyond prevailing "absence of illness" criteria; (b) to clarify that positive human health does not derive from extant medical considerations, which are not about wellness, but necessarily require a base in philosophical accounts of the "goods" in life; (c) to provoke a change of emphasis from strong tendencies to construe human health as exclusively about the mind or the body toward an integrated and positive spiral of mind-body influences; (d) to delineate possible physiological substrates of human flourishing and offer future directions for understanding the biology of positive health; and (e) to discuss implications of positive health for diverse scientific agendas (e.g., stress, class and health, work and family life) and for practice in health fields (e.g., training, health examinations, psychotherapy, and wellness intervention programs).
Counseling psychologists often work with clients to increase their well-being as well as to decrease their distress. One important aspect of well-being, highlighted particularly in humanistic theories of the counseling process, is perceived meaning in life. However, poor measurement has hampered research on meaning in life. In 3 studies, evidence is provided for the internal consistency, temporal stability, factor structure, and validity of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), a new 10-item measure of the presence of, and the search for, meaning in life. A multitrait-multimethod matrix demonstrates the convergent and discriminant validity of the MLQ subscales across time and informants, in comparison with 2 other meaning scales. The MLQ offers several improvements over current meaning in life measures, including no item overlap with distress measures, a stable factor structure, better discriminant validity, a briefer format, and the ability to measure the search for meaning.
This study has two primary goals. The first is to see whether select aspects of religion are associated with meaning in life. The second goal is to see whether change in meaning in life is associated with change in physical functioning. Data from a nationwide longitudinal survey of older people provide support for the following relationships: (1) older adults who attend church services more often tend to develop a closer relationship with God; (2) older people who have a closer relationship with God are more likely to provide emotional support to others; (3) elders who give emotional support to their social network members are more likely to have a stronger sense of meaning in life; and (4) older individuals who have a deeper sense of meaning in life are less likely to experience a decline in their physical functioning over time.
This article explores how religion, as a meaning system, influences coping with adversity. First, a model emphasizing the role of meaning making in coping is presented. Next, religion as a meaning system is defined, and theory and research on the role of religion in the coping process are summarized. Results from the author's study of 169 bereaved college students are then presented to illustrate some of the pathways through which religious meaning can influence the coping process in making meaning following loss. Findings indicate that associations between religion and adjustment vary across time since loss, and that these associations are mediated by meaning-making coping. Finally, implications for individual and societal well-being and suggestions for future research are discussed.
This study explores the relationships between religiosity, Meaning in Life and Subjective Wellbeing (SWB) in a sample of 495
Muslim students (330 Females, and 165 males) from Algeria. Their Mean age is 21.26 (SD2.30). Relying on experts’ judgments
and pilot-testing, a Comprehensive Measure of Islamic Religiosity (CMIR) has been developed. It consists of 60 items covering
four broad areas with high inter-correlations: Religious Belief, Religious Practice, Religious Altruism, and Enrichment of
religious experience. A short version of the ‘Presence of Meaning in Life’ (PML) scale, Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS),
and Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) are also administered in one set of questionnaires, together with religiosity items. The
results indicate that Religious Belief and Religious Altruism significantly contribute in providing subjects with meaning
in life. Nevertheless, Hierarchical Regression Analyses show that only Religious Belief makes a significant contribution in
both SWLS and PWI. But, this effect has almost totally been accounted for by Meaning in life in the second step. Comparisons
on the basis of the demographic characteristics show that males marginally differ from females (p < .05) in Religious Altruism, but these latter are higher in SWLS (p < .05). Moreover, it has been shown that students of science score marginally higher in Belief and Practice and also in PML,
and SWLS compared to their counterparts of Arts studies. Though no differences are found in the strength of religious belief
in subjects from rural and urban location, the former have generally higher scores on other religiosity subscales. This trend
is slightly reversed in PWI (p < .05). Furthermore, subjects from high income families are favoured in PML, SWLS, and PWI. These results are discussed on
the light of current international research.
In this article we study the determinants of cultural participation in Israel with an emphasis on the Weberian distinction
between class and status. The class measure is based on occupational groupings, and status is operationalized as a rank of
occupations based on social distance. We expect that class will be less important than status in shaping cultural participation
patterns. In addition, due to the importance of ethnicity and religiosity in Israeli society, we expect that these factors
will be significant in shaping cultural participation. Data are based on two telephone surveys conducted in 2006 and 2007
of a random sample of the Jewish population in Israel. We find that, contrary to our expectation, class is more influential
than status. We also find that ethnicity and religiosity are important factors that shape cultural participation patterns.
We discuss possible explanations to the finding regarding class and status, with special attention to the role cultural policy
plays in mediating the economic effect on consumer behavior. We also call for more attention to ethnicity and religiosity
in studies of cultural stratification.
Interest in meaning and meaning making in the context of stressful life events continues to grow, but research is hampered by conceptual and methodological limitations. Drawing on current theories, the author first presents an integrated model of meaning making. This model distinguishes between the constructs of global and situational meaning and between "meaning-making efforts" and "meaning made," and it elaborates subconstructs within these constructs. Using this model, the author reviews the empirical research regarding meaning in the context of adjustment to stressful events, outlining what has been established to date and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current empirical work. Results suggest that theory on meaning and meaning making has developed apace, but empirical research has failed to keep up with these developments, creating a significant gap between the rich but abstract theories and empirical tests of them. Given current empirical findings, some aspects of the meaning-making model appear to be well supported but others are not, and the quality of meaning-making efforts and meanings made may be at least as important as their quantity. This article concludes with specific suggestions for future research.
Meaning in life and life satisfaction are both important variables in well-being research. Whereas an appreciable body of
work suggests that life satisfaction is fairly stable over long periods of time, little research has investigated the stability
of meaning in life ratings. In addition, it is unknown whether these highly correlated variables change independent of each
other over time. Eighty-two participants (mean age = 19.3 years, SD 1.4; 76% female; 84% European-American) completed measures
of the presence of meaning in life, the search for meaning in life, and life satisfaction an average of 13 months apart (SD = 2.3 months).
Moderate stability was found for presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, and life satisfaction. Multiple
regressions demonstrated specificity in predicting change among these measures. Support for validity and reliability of these
variables is discussed.
The ability to make sense of events in one's life has held a central role in theories of adaptation to adversity. However, there are few rigorous studies on the role of meaning in adjustment, and those that have been conducted have focused predominantly on direct personal trauma. The authors examined the predictors and long-term consequences of Americans' searching for and finding meaning in a widespread cultural upheaval--the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001--among a national probability sample of U.S. adults (N=931). Searching for meaning at 2 months post-9/11 was predicted by demographics and high acute stress response. In contrast, finding meaning was predicted primarily by demographics and specific early coping strategies. Whereas searching for meaning predicted greater posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms across the following 2 years, finding meaning predicted lower PTS symptoms, even after controlling for pre-9/11 mental health, exposure to 9/11, and acute stress response. Mediation analyses suggest that finding meaning supported adjustment by reducing fears of future terrorism. Results highlight the role of meaning in adjustment following collective traumas that shatter people's fundamental assumptions about security and invulnerability.
This study examines the effects of caregiving and bereavement on psychosocial resources in HIV+ and HIV- caregivers of men with AIDS. We explored three hypotheses regarding these effects: the "wear and tear" hypothesis, which asserts that the chronic stress of caregiving and bereavement diminishes resources; the "enhancement" hypothesis, which asserts that caregiver resources may increase in response to increased demands; and the "personality" hypothesis, which asserts that psychosocial resources reflect stable personality characteristics. We addressed four questions: (a) What are the effects of caregiving on resources? (b) How do these resources vary by the imminence of the partner's death? (c) What is the effect of the partner's death on these resources? and (d) How does the caregivers' HIV serostatus influence the effects of caregiving and bereavement on resources? Support for the personality hypothesis predominated, with some support for the wear and tear hypothesis, depending on the resource in question. In general, HIV seropositivity did not put people at additional risk for resource depletion.
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is Suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
Six studies examined the role of positive affect (PA) in the experience of meaning in life (MIL). Study 1 showed strong relations between measures of mood, goal appraisals, and MIL. In multivariate analyses, PA was a stronger predictor of MIL than goal appraisals. In Study 2, the most consistent predictor of the experience of meaning in a day was the PA experienced that day. Later, global MIL was predicted by average daily PA, rather than average daily MIL. Study 3 demonstrated no prospective relations between measures of MIL and PA over 2 years. In Study 4, priming positive mood concepts enhanced MIL. In Study 5, manipulated positive mood enhanced ratings of MIL for those who were not given an attributional cue for their moods. In Study 6, PA was associated with a high level of distinction between meaningful and meaningless activities. Results indicate that positive moods may predispose individuals to feel that life is meaningful. In addition, positive moods may increase sensitivity to the meaning-relevance of a situation.
The meaning maintenance model (MMM) proposes that people have a need for meaning; that is, a need to perceive events through a prism of mental representations of expected relations that organizes their perceptions of the world. When people's sense of meaning is threatened, they reaffirm alternative representations as a way to regain meaning-a process termed fluid compensation. According to the model, people can reaffirm meaning in domains that are different from the domain in which the threat occurred. Evidence for fluid compensation can be observed following a variety of psychological threats, including most especially threats to the self, such as self-esteem threats, feelings of uncertainty, interpersonal rejection, and mortality salience. People respond to these diverse threats in highly similar ways, which suggests that a range of psychological motivations are expressions of a singular impulse to generate and maintain a sense of meaning.
This cross-sectional study used data from 486 Israeli Jews and Muslims to examine the phenomenon of religious coping among an Israeli sample. Participants were recruited in the context of two research projects on coping methods, one examining the stress of the Gaza war of 2014, and the other examining the stress of aging. Participants provided demographic information and completed measures of religious coping, satisfaction with life, and depressive symptoms. Findings revealed that: (1) with relatively minor modifications, the Brief RCOPE, through which religious coping was assessed in this study, has the same 2-factor structure among Israelis, both Jews and Muslims; (2) positive and negative religious coping correlated moderately, but their association varied according to religious affiliation (i.e., Muslims vs. Jews) and religious self-definition (secular vs. traditional vs. religious); (3) negative religious coping was related to lower life satisfaction and higher depressive symptoms, whereas positive religious coping was related to none of the outcome measures; (4) religious affiliation and religious self-definition appeared as moderators of the link between positive religious coping and life satisfaction, and religious self-definition as a moderator between negative religious coping and life satisfaction, and; (5) neither religious affiliation nor religious self-definition moderated the links between both types of religious coping and depressive symptoms.
There is growing evidence that a sense of meaning in life may emerge, in part, from the social relationships that people maintain. But it is not clear how the relationship between social ties and a sense of meaning might arise. The purpose of this study is to see if meaning in life is associated with three socially focused virtues: compassion, forgiveness of others, and providing social support to others. In the process, an effort is made to see if these social virtues arise from social relationships in religious institutions. Two main findings emerge from a recent nationwide survey. First, people who are more compassionate, more forgiving, and who help others more often have a stronger sense of meaning in life. Second, individuals who receive more spiritual support from fellow church members are more likely to adopt these social virtues. The theoretical basis of these relationships is discussed.
Religion serves many social and existential functions. In 3 studies (N = 1,197), we examine how religious belief orientations involve tradeoffs that prioritize either existential security or tolerance toward religiously different groups. In Study 1 (N = 205), security-focused beliefs were related to greater meaning in life and lower tolerance, whereas growth-focused religious beliefs were related to lower meaning in life and greater tolerance. In Study 2 (N = 298), we found that a security-focused religious belief orientation (i.e., defensive theological beliefs) was associated with existential well-being, and religious commitment enhanced this relationship. Finally, in Study 3 (N = 694), using an experimental priming manipulation, we found that meaning threats resulted in greater existential anxiety for those with growth-focused beliefs (i.e., quest religion). Together, this research highlights how religious beliefs may prioritize either (a) existential security (i.e., security-oriented), or (b) ability to span ideological differences to form alliances (i.e., growth-oriented). (PsycINFO Database Record
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
The impact of meaning in life, or lack thereof, on suicidal tendencies among populations at greater risk-youth born to immigrants from developing countries, in this case Ethiopia-in comparison to native-born Israeli youth was examined among 277 adolescents-162 of Israeli origin and 115 of Ethiopian origin-aged 15-18. (1) Overall significant negative correlation between meaning in life and suicidal tendencies was found; (2) no difference was found in meaning in life between immigrant and native-born youth; (3) higher suicidal tendency, anxiety and depression were found among immigrants, with boys displaying more anxiety than girls. No difference in depression was detected between Ethiopian boys and girls. Meaning in life is crucial to minimizing suicidal tendencies among youth, native-born and immigrant alike. Establishment of prevention, intervention and therapy plans in the age range crucial for suicide. Such programs should be based upon finding meaning in life.
Based on interviews with a sample of native British converts to Islam, this article attempts to identify the major factors involved in their conversions and to explain why they chose Islam rather than any other religion. The converts had become strongly critical both of their childhood religion, Christianity, and of the society they grew up in, Britain. They found Christianity too morally permissive and society too secularized. In other words, they were upset at how marginalized religion had become both in their own lives and in society. Choosing Islam enabled them to more easily orient their everyday lives towards God since Islam offers many practical ways to lead a meaningful and good private and social life. The author concludes that it was the dynamics of their own lives and thoughts that led them to convert. They wanted a more religiously oriented community and life.
Two studies examined the role of religious commitment in moderating the relationship between positive affect (PA) and meaning in life. In Study 1, Sample 1, religiosity was found to moderate the relationship between naturally occurring PA and meaning in life, showing that high levels of religiosity attenuated the effects of PA on meaning in life. In Study 1, Sample 2, religiosity similarly moderated the effects of induced mood on meaning in life. In addition, this pattern of results was shown to be unique to meaning in life compared to another life domain (life satisfaction). In Study 2, subliminally priming Christians with positive religious words (e.g., “Heaven”) was further shown to weaken the association between PA and meaning in life, whereas subliminal primes of negative religious words (e.g., “hell”) weakened the association between religious commitment and meaning in life. A competition of cues model is proposed to account for these effects.
Two studies examined the interaction between subjective well-being (SWB) and meaning in life (MIL) vis-à-vis self-perceptions of actual or potential threats to one's physical and mental integrity, hereby defined as the hostile-world scenario (HWS). Study 1 (N = 608) showed that the relationship between SWB and MIL strengthened as the HWS increased. Study 2 (Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe; SHARE-Israel; N = 1665) similarly showed that SWB and MIL were strongly linked as lifetime cumulative adversity, the ultimate realization of the HWS, increased. Study 2 further showed that when one construct (whether SWB or MIL) was low, the other construct acted as a moderator of the effect of cumulative adversity on functioning. In conclusion, although SWB and MIL are more strongly linked under adverse circumstances, they are likely to compensate for each other, perhaps due to their unique operations.
Derived and tested a short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) for reliability and validity among 1,206 well older adults (aged 65–98 yrs). The 10-item screening questionnaire, the CESD-10, showed good predictive accuracy when compared to the full-length 20-item version of the CES-D. The CESD-10 showed an expected positive correlation with poorer health status scores and a strong negative correlation with positive affect. Retest correlations for the CESD-10 were comparable to those in other studies. The CESD-10 was administered again after 12 mo. Data were based on 80% of the original sample. Scores were stable with strong correlation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study examined the differences between 2 types of workaholics (enthusiastic and nonenthusiastic workaholics) and nonworkaholic workers (work enthusiasts, relaxed workers, unengaged workers, and disenchanted workers) with respect to work–life conflict, life satisfaction, and purpose in life in a sample of 171 salaried employees of a high technology organization. Results differed for the 2 types of workaholics, supporting the importance of continued differentiation of workaholic types. Nonenthusiastic workaholics were found to have significantly more work–life conflict and significantly less life satisfaction and purpose in life than 3 of the 4 types of nonworkaholics. Enthusiastic workaholics were found to have significantly more life satisfaction and purpose in life than nonenthusiastic workaholics and significantly more work–life conflict than 3 of the 4 nonworkaholics. Implications for career planning and counseling are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article explores the issue of gender, feminism, and religion through a study of Jewish Israeli traditionalist (masorti) women. Based on the premise that feminist discourse and rhetoric have become widely accepted and disseminated (while sociocultural and political practices are far from fully implementing this discourse), the article asks how women who choose an identity that refuses to fall into the one-dimensional dichotomy that distinguishes between the category of the “secular-modern-feminist” and that of the “religious-traditional-subordinate” construct and negotiate their feminine identity, while exploring the varying ways in which this identity-construct interplays with these women's identity as members of an ethno-national collective. This exploration deals with issues of: feminist and Jewish traditionalist discourses; body, dress, and ritual; family, spousal relations, and personal security; and women in synagogue.
Life meaning is important for psychological and physical health and well-being. Researchers have only recently looked at the presence of life meaning and the search for life meaning as separate constructs. In the current study, 731 adult respondents from the United States completed the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, which separately assesses the presence of meaning and the search for meaning, and measures of well-being. Presence and search for life meaning showed different relationships with well-being. Consistent with past research, the presence of meaning was positively associated with life satisfaction, happiness, and positive affect and negatively associated with depression and negative affect, whereas the search for meaning overall had the opposite pattern of correlates. However, the search for meaning was positively associated with well-being—greater life satisfaction, more happiness, and less depression—among those who already had substantial meaning in their life. The search for meaning is not only morally worthy but as it succeeds, eventually satisfying. Implications of these results for interventions to promote mental health and well-being are discussed.
Although many social scientists have assumed that religion can be reduced to more basic processes, there may be something unique about religion. By definition, religion has a distinctively meaningful point of reference, the sacred. Empirically, studies also suggest that religion may be a unique: form of motivation; source of value and significance; contributor to mortality and health; source of coping; and source of distress. These findings point to the need for: theory and research on the sacred; attention to the pluralization of religious beliefs and practices; evaluation of individual and social interventions that address spiritual problems and apply spiritual resources to their resolution; and collaboration between psychological and religious groups that draws on their unique identities and strengths.
Religion invests human existence with meaning by establishing goals and value systems that potentially pertain to all aspects of a persons' life. A goals approach provides a general unifying framework to capture the dynamic aspect of religion in people's lives. Empirical research on the measurement of spirituality and religion through personal goals is described. To illustrate the application of the goals framework, data from the author's research program on personal goals and quality of life in persons with neuromuscular diseases are described. Framing subjective quality-of-life outcomes in terms of goals can lead to new possibilities for understanding adaptation to physical disabilities and in particular, the understanding of the religious and spiritual dimensions of disability and rehabilitation.
Meaning in life has been identified as an important element of well-being. Recently attention has been directed to examining
the differences between having meaning in life and searching for meaning in life. Theory has speculated that if an individual
is searching for meaning in life, he/she may be distressed. Researchers of late have begun to focus on the process of searching
for meaning in life to gain a better understanding of the individual differences which may exist. Interest has also been directed
towards exploring whether any moderators of the possible negative effects of the searching process may exist. This research
investigated the hypothesised negative link between high levels of searching for meaning in life and subjective well-being
and the positive moderating effects of presence of meaning in life while also exploring the influence of the demographic variables
which were treated as control variables. From an exploratory stance further analysis examined the hypothesised positive moderating
effects of self-actualisation, self-efficacy and achievement motives on the relationship between searching for meaning and
subjective well-being. One study (n = 500) was conducted to assess the hypothesized relationships. The study confirmed the
negative relationship between high levels of searching for meaning in life and subjective well-being and positive moderating
effects that presence of meaning in life and self-actualisation have on happiness scores when individuals are searching for
meaning in life. Self-efficacy and achievement motives were shown to have no significant moderating effects on searching for
meaning in life and subjective wellbeing. Overall the results suggest that individuals who record high levels of searching
for meaning in life are protected from the negative outcomes of this process by holding high levels of presence of meaning
in life and self-actualisation.
Culture supplies people with the provisions to derive meaning from life. However, no research has examined cultural variation in the two principal dimensions of meaning in life, presence of meaning and search for meaning. The present investigation adapted theories of self-concept and cognitive styles to develop a dialectical model of meaning in life, which predicted cultural differences in the tendency to experience search for meaning as opposed to, or harmonious with, presence of meaning. Using data from American (N = 1183) and Japanese (N = 982) young adults, mean levels and correlates of presence of meaning and search for meaning were examined. As predicted, Americans reported greater presence of meaning; Japanese reported greater search for meaning. In accordance with the model, search for meaning was negatively related to presence of meaning and well-being in the United States (opposed) and positively related to these variables in Japan (harmonious). Thus, the search for meaning appears to be influenced by culture, and search for meaning appears to moderate cultural influences on presence of meaning.
The current study presents data on the reliability and validity of the Life Regard Index (LRI), a 28-item scale which was designed to assess positive life regard, degree of experienced meaningfulness of one's life. The theoretical LRI structure, distinguishing two dimensions framework and fulfilment, was substantially supported by empirical data from distressed student (n = 116), normal student (n = 169) and general population (n=176) samples. The findings demonstrated that the LRI scales have high internal consistency, and good test-retest reliability. The LRI strongly discriminated distressed and non-distressed subjects. Associations with happiness, psychological well-being and primary relationships were established, showing evidence for construct validity of the LRI. Furthermore the instrument was found to be a great extent independent of specific value orientations. The use of the instrument in further research is recommended.
This investigation examined the association of personal meaning to psychological well-being in adults living with HIV/AIDS receiving mental health services. Personal meaning refers to a framework for delineating the purposes and goals that make life worth living and for evaluating the degree to which these purposes and goals are being fulfilled. Personal meaning was hypothesized to be positively associated with psychological well-being and to contribute independently to the variance in psychological well-being over and above social support, dispositional optimism and coping behavior.
With the use of a cross-sectional design, a set of self-report measures were completed by 132 adults living with HIV disease at the time of their initial mental health services evaluation. Data were analyzed using correlation and regression techniques.
Personal meaning was positively associated with psychological well-being, although it did not contribute significantly to the variance in well-being over and above social support, optimism and coping behavior in a multifactorial regression model. Post hoc analysis showed partial mediation by optimism of the association between personal meaning and well-being.
Personal meaning should be considered along with other psychological and behavioral coping factors in understanding and intervening clinically with individuals living with HIV disease and co-occurring psychiatric concerns.
Meaning in life is an important construct in psychology, but one which has been the focus of limited research. Most research has concentrated on the relation between meaning and psychopathology, and has been conducted with the Purpose in Life Test. This paper examines the relation between meaning in life and psychological well-being using several meaning measures and both positive and negative well-being dimensions. A strong association is found between meaning in life and well-being, which is replicated in two different samples. Meaning in life is found to have a stronger association with positive than with negative well-being dimensions, suggesting the value of taking a salutogenic approach to mental health research. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
The authors find East Asians to be holistic, attending to the entire field and assigning causality to it, making relatively little use of categories and formal logic, and relying on "dialectical" reasoning, whereas Westerners are more analytic, paying attention primarily to the object and the categories to which it belongs and using rules, including formal logic, to understand its behavior. The 2 types of cognitive processes are embedded in different naive metaphysical systems and tacit epistemologies. The authors speculate that the origin of these differences is traceable to markedly different social systems. The theory and the evidence presented call into question long-held assumptions about basic cognitive processes and even about the appropriateness of the process-content distinction.
The face of Israeli society: Religion and self-determination of religiosity
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On the psychometric properties of the life regard index (LRI): A measure of meaningful life: An evaluation in three independent samples based on the Dutch version
- D. L. Debats
- P. M. Van der Lubbe
- F. R. Wezeman
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