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Why Meaning in Life Matters for Societal Flourishing

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Frontiers in Psychology
Authors:
Clay Routledge at Archbridge Institute
Clay Routledge
  • Archbridge Institute
Taylor A Fiorito at North Dakota State University
Taylor A Fiorito
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Abstract

Research in the social, behavioral, and health sciences indicates that meaning in life is important for both mental and physical health. Despite the growing recognition that humans need to perceive their lives as meaningful in order to thrive as individuals, scholars have largely ignored how meaning influences broader societal health. In the present analysis, we propose a more outward focused existential psychology by considering the role meaning plays in building and sustaining healthy communities and societies. Specifically, we argue that meaning serves as a self-regulatory and motivational intrapsychic resource that orients people towards the types of psychological states, goals, and behaviors that support social and economic flourishing. We further argue that meaning is vital for successfully navigating major societal and global threats and challenges.
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OPINION
published: 14 January 2021
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.601899
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 1January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 601899
Edited by:
Dimitri Van Der Linden,
Erasmus University
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Reviewed by:
Tatjana Schnell,
University of Innsbruck, Austria
Daryl R. Van Tongeren,
Hope College, United States
*Correspondence:
Clay Routledge
clay.routledge@ndsu.edu
Specialty section:
This article was submitted to
Personality and Social Psychology,
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Psychology
Received: 01 September 2020
Accepted: 16 December 2020
Published: 14 January 2021
Citation:
Routledge C and FioRito TA (2021)
Why Meaning in Life Matters for
Societal Flourishing.
Front. Psychol. 11:601899.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.601899
Why Meaning in Life Matters for
Societal Flourishing
Clay Routledge 1
*and Taylor A. FioRito 2
1Department of Management and Marketing, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, United States, 2Department of
Psychology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, United States
Keywords: meaning, flourishing, motivation, economics, prosocial behavior, self-regulation
INTRODUCTION
Meaning in life reflects the feeling that one’s existence has significance, purpose, and coherence
(see Heintzelman and King, 2014). A growing body of research identifies meaning in life as a
fundamental human need that strongly influences both psychological and physical well-being (see
Vail and Routledge, 2020). Individuals who perceive their lives as full of meaning live longer,
healthier, and happier lives than those less inclined to view their lives as meaningful. Despite
the growing recognition that meaning in life is vital for humans, scholars have largely ignored
how meaning influences broader societal flourishing. We propose that meaning has important
social and economic implications, particularly when societies are facing major existential threats
such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, we argue that meaning functions as
a self-regulatory and motivational intrapsychic resource that orients people toward the types of
cognitions and behaviors that build and sustain healthy communities and societies.
MEANING PROMOTES PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL
HEALTH
Scholars have long recognized that meaning in life is an important psychological need. The more
people feel meaningful, the more they experience overall positive psychological well-being (e.g.,
Steger and Frazier, 2005). Moreover, meaning reduces the risk for depression (e.g., Disabato et al.,
2017), addiction (e.g., Kinnier et al., 1994), and suicide (e.g., Edwards and Holden, 2001). Meaning
is also positively associated with physical health and longevity (e.g., Czekierda et al., 2017).
A MOTIVATIONAL VIEW OF MEANING
Understanding why meaning matters so much for health and well-being paves the way for a
broader analysis of existential health and the role it plays in societal flourishing. Meaning positively
contributes to psychological and physical health because of its motivational and self-regulatory
nature (see Hooker et al., 2018; Routledge, 2018). For example, meaning in life, but not well-being
indicators such as positive affect or optimism, positively predicts physical activity (Hooker and
Masters, 2016) and when people are thinking about what gives their lives meaning, they are more
likely to engage in physical exercise and to exercise for longer intervals, even if they were previously
physically inactive (Hooker and Masters, 2018).
More broadly, meaning drives goal pursuit (see Routledge, 2018). For instance, when individuals
bring to mind and reflect on meaningful life memories, they subsequently report greater
perceptions of meaning and motivation to pursue goals, and this motivational effect cannot be
attributed to positive affect (Sedikides and Wildschut, 2018). Findings such as these reveal that
when people are focused on what gives their lives meaning, they are generally more agentic and
Routledge and FioRito Meaning and Societal Flourishing
inspired. These and related findings (see Steger et al., 2006)
also highlight that meaning isn’t synonymous with other
well-being indicators.
Research identifying meaning as a coping resource further
reveals its motivational nature (see Park, 2010). For example,
when people face mental health challenges, meaning in life may
play a vital role in treatment success by motivating people to
be compliant and actively engaged in the treatment process.
Indeed, people with greater perceptions of meaning respond
more positively to psychotherapy (Debats, 1996). Life often
involves experiences of uncertainty, stress, sadness, and loss.
Eventually, we all lose loved ones and must face death ourselves.
Critically, meaning is a vital psychological resource for coping
with these challenges (Park and Folkman, 1997). Those who are
able to respond to tragedy and loss in ways that affirm meaning
are better able to move forward with their lives in productive ways
and to be at peace with their own mortality (see Routledge and
Vess, 2018). When people believe their lives matter, they have a
reason to regulate their behavior in ways that helps keep them
alive and thriving.
MEANING AS A CRITICAL INGREDIENT OF
SOCIETAL FLOURISHING
The well-being of any society is directly linked to the well-
being of the individuals living in it. Thus, the fact that meaning
in life supports individual flourishing provides critical evidence
that it also promotes societal flourishing. However, the positive
influence of meaning on societal well-being is more than the
sum of individuals regulating their own behavior in ways that
help them stay healthy and pursue self-focused goals. Meaning
in life and the agency it generates has important implications for
social and economic health, which are two critical ingredients of
societal flourishing.
Meaning promotes social and community engagement.
Numerous studies have identified social bonds as a primary
source of meaning in life. For example, when asked to detail
in writing what gives their lives meaning, the most frequently
reported source of meaning is close relationships (Nelson et al.,
2019). However, research also indicates that meaning promotes
the pursuit of social connections. For example, Stavrova and
Luhmann (2016) observed that meaning in life positively
predicted the extent to which individuals felt connected to their
community, family, friends, and spouse/partner 10 years later. In
a second study, these researchers found even stronger evidence
for a social motivational function of meaning; higher levels of
meaning predicted a greater likelihood of future participation
in voluntary associations, and, among single people, a greater
likelihood of getting married. Such findings are consistent
with laboratory research showing that when people reflect on
personally meaningful past social experiences, they become more
motivated to pursue social goals and more confident that they can
overcome problems in their relationships (Abeyta et al., 2015).
Moreover, the more individuals report a desire to live a
meaningful life, the more they engage in prosocial behavior such
as volunteering and charitable giving (FioRito et al., in press).
This suggests that the need for meaning orients people toward
helping others and supporting the social organizations that they
believe improve society.
Meaning in life may also promote societal flourishing at
the economic level. For example, a sense of purpose in life
predicts gains in household income and net worth over time
(Hill et al., 2016). Since meaning promotes self-control and
goal-directed behavior generally, it likely supports the types of
economic decision-making and work-related goals that lead to
greater financial security. Greater financial security is key to
the economic health of communities and the global economy.
And individuals are better positioned to support other important
features of community life (e.g., the arts) and to help those in
need with charitable giving when they are able to meet their own
financial needs.
USING MEANING TO OVERCOME MAJOR
SOCIETAL THREATS AND CHALLENGES
Since meaning in life is a resource the helps people cope with
stress, uncertainty, anxiety, and trauma it may also play a
vital role in helping communities and the broader society face
collective threats and challenges. Recent studies, for instance,
found that higher meaning in life is associated with lower levels
of anxiety and COVID-19 stress (Trzebinski et al., 2020) and
lower levels of mental distress among those facing pandemic-
related stress (Schnell and Krampe, 2020). In order to successfully
respond to and recover from collective threats such as pandemics,
economic recessions, and natural disasters, humans need to
possess the psychological fortitude that not only helps them
manage their personal anxieties, but that also drives them to want
to positively contribute to the world around them.
TOWARD A MORE OUTWARD FOCUSED
EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Much of the research in existential psychology has focused on
how meaning contributes to individual health and well-being
and has ignored many of the ways that meaning might orient
people outward. In the current analysis, by focusing on the
self-regulatory and motivational functions meaning serves and
connecting those functions to outcomes beyond the individual,
we hope to inspire more research directed toward exploring the
vital role meaning may play in promoting societal flourishing. We
propose that when people view their lives as meaningful, they are
better positioned and more motivated to take care of themselves
and make valuable contributions to their families, communities,
nation, and the world.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual
contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 2January 2021 | Volume 11 | Article 601899
Routledge and FioRito Meaning and Societal Flourishing
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Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the
absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a
potential conflict of interest.
Copyright © 2021 Routledge and FioRito. This is an open-access article distributed
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author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication
in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use,
distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
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Available via license: CC BY
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... Nevertheless, due to the reliance on cross-sectional analyses or in-depth case studies, we know little about how shifting gender equality associates with well-being among the collective of men and women, or societal flourishing (Routledge & FioRito, 2021), net of unobserved countryspecific socio-economic characteristics. This also means that one cannot be sure, for example, whether the averagely higher/lower well-being level in a gender-egalitarian society is attributed to the degree of gender parity per se or due to other country-dependent conditions affecting both gender equality and well-being. ...
... Although these do not fully cover the broad scope of SWB/SIB and human/societal flourishing (Routledge & FioRito, 2021;Vanderweele, 2017Vanderweele, , 2024, our models and findings provide a foundation for future studies in this vein. ...
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... The results imply that presence of meaning provides hope, direction, motivation and optimism, enhancing the quality of current relationships and helping build new relationships, thus increasing well-being. The positive relation between meaning in life and well-being is supported by existing studies [46,77,78]. By delineating the relationship between the presence of meaning and three forms of well-being, and examining the role of loneliness of urban youth, our study adds to the existing literature. ...
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Full-text available
  • Feb 2024
Bu araştırma, yetişkin bireylerdeki travma sonrası büyüme ile yaşamda anlam arayışı arasındaki ilişkide umudun aracı rolünü incelemek amacıyla gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda ilişkisel tarama yöntemi kullanılarak yapılan çalışmada, Sosyodemografik Bilgi Formu, Travma Sonrası Büyüme Envanteri (TSBE), Yaşamda Anlam Ölçeği (YAÖ) ve Sürekli Umut Ölçeği (SUÖ) kullanılmıştır. Çalışma 20-65 yaş arasında olan 424 kişinin gönüllü katılımıyla yürütülmüştür. Travma sonrası büyüme ile yaşamda anlam arayışı arasındaki ilişkide umudun aracı rolü Process 4.2 kullanılarak incelenmiştir. Bulgular sonucu travma sonrası büyüme ile yaşamda anlam arayışı arasındaki ilişkide umudun kısmi aracı role sahip olduğu saptanmıştır. Travma sonrası büyümenin yaşamda anlamı pozitif yönde yordadığı görülmüştür. Travma sonrası büyüme ve sürekli umut değişkenleri yaşamda anlam puanındaki varyansın %35’ini açıklayabilmektedir. Sürekli umut bağımsız değişkeninin ise travma sonrası büyüme puanındaki varyansın %13’ünü açıkladığı görülmektedir. Elde edilen bulgularla bireylerin büyüme ve anlam yaratma süreçlerinde umudun önemi vurgulanmıştır. Türk popülasyonda yapılan bu çalışma, farklı kültürlerle karşılaştırma olanağı sunacağı için önem arz etmektedir. Araştırma sonuçlarına dayalı olarak, ruh sağlığı profesyonelleri tarafından travmatik olaylara yönelik yürütülen psikososyal destek çalışmalarında ve psikolojik müdahalelerde acı veren deneyimlerin ruhsal gelişime katkısında umudun gücünün hesaba katılmasının, travmatik olaylara maruz kalmış bireylerin iyileşme süreçlerini destekleyeceği düşünülmektedir.
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Meaning in Life and Self-Control Buffer Stress in Times of COVID-19: Moderating and Mediating Effects With Regard to Mental Distress
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2020
Background As evidenced by several studies, mental distress increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this period, citizens were asked to exercise a high degree of self-control with regard to personal and social health behavior. At the same time, we witnessed an increase of prosocial acts and shared creative expressions, which are known to serve as sources of meaning. Meaning in life and self-control are acknowledged psychological resources. Especially in times of crisis, meaning in life has been shown to be a crucial factor for resilience and coping. However, threatening and stressful situations can also jeopardize existential security and trigger crises of meaning. The present study aimed to document levels of acute COVID-19 stress and general mental distress in Germany and Austria during the lockdown and in the weeks thereafter. In order to identify potential risk factors related to demographics and living conditions, their associations with COVID-19 stress were analyzed exploratively. The primary objective of the study, however, was to investigate the buffering effect of two psychological resources—meaningfulness and self-control—with regard to the relation between acute COVID-19 stress and general mental distress. Finally, a potential aggravation of mental distress due to the occurrence of crises of meaning was examined. Method A cross-sectional survey was conducted online during lockdown (survey group 1) and the subsequent weeks characterized by eased restrictions (survey group 2). A total of N = 1,538 German-speaking participants completed a questionnaire battery including a novel measure of acute COVID-19 stress, meaningfulness and crisis of meaning (SoMe), self-control (SCS-KD), and a screening of general mental distress, measured by core symptoms of depression and anxiety (PHQ-4). In a first step, associations between living conditions, demographics, and COVID-19 stress were explored. Second, a moderation and a mediation model were tested. Meaningfulness, a measure of presence of meaning in life, as well as self-control were proposed to serve as buffers in a time of crisis, thus moderating the relation between acute COVID-19 stress and general mental distress (double moderation). Crisis of meaning, operationalizing an experienced lack of meaning in life, was proposed to mediate the relationship between acute COVID-19 stress and general mental distress, with an assumed moderation of the association between COVID-19 stress and crisis of meaning by survey group (lockdown versus eased restrictions after lockdown), and a hypothesized moderation of the link between crisis of meaning and general mental distress by self-control (dual moderated mediation). Results COVID-19 stress was slightly right-skewed. Scores were higher during lockdown than in the weeks thereafter. The rate of clinically significant general mental distress was high, exceeding prevalence rates from both the general population and clinical samples of the time before the pandemic. In the weeks following the lockdown (group 2), general mental distress and crisis of meaning were significantly higher than during lockdown (group 1), whereas meaningfulness and self-control were significantly lower. Demographically, age had the strongest association with COVID-19 stress, with older participants perceiving less acute stress (r = −.21). People who were partnered or married suffered less from COVID-19 stress (η2 = .01). Living alone (η2 = .006), living in a room versus a flat or house (η2 = .008), and being unemployed due to the pandemic (η2 = .008) were related to higher experience of COVID-19 stress. COVID-19 stress and general mental distress were strongly related (r = .53). Both meaningfulness and self-control were negatively associated with general mental distress (r = −.40 and −.36, respectively). They also moderated the relationship between COVID-19 stress and general mental distress: When meaningfulness was high, high COVID-19 stress was related to substantially lower PHQ-4 scores than when meaningfulness was low. The same held for self-control: High scores of self-control were associated with lower PHQ-4 scores especially when COVID-19 stress was high. Crisis of meaning mediated the relationship between COVID-19 stress and PHQ-4. There was a higher likelihood of crises of meaning occurring when COVID-19 stress was high; crisis of meaning, in turn, was associated with general mental distress. Survey group moderated the first path of this mediation, i.e., the relationship between COVID-19 stress and crisis of meaning: High scores of COVID-19 stress were associated more strongly with crisis of meaning in the second survey group (after the lockdown). Self-control moderated the second path, i.e., the relationship between crisis of meaning and PHQ-4: When a crisis of meaning was present, self-control could buffer its effect on general mental distress. Conclusions Also in the present study among German-speaking participants, general mental distress was high. Scores were higher after than during the lockdown, indicating an ongoing destabilization for a significant part of the population. People who saw a meaning in their lives and who were capable of self-control reported substantially less mental distress. Meaningfulness and self-control also served as buffers between COVID-19 stress and general mental distress: When COVID-19 stress was high, the presence of meaningfulness and self-control accounted for lower general mental distress. Moreover, people who suffered strongly from COVID-19 stress were more likely to develop a crisis of meaning which, in turn, was associated with higher general mental distress. This suggests that ongoing anxiety and depression might (also) be based on existential struggles. Again here, self-control buffered the impact of crisis of meaning on general mental health. We conclude from these findings that public health policies can support citizens in coping with large-scale crises by enabling experiences of meaningfulness, e.g., through transparent and reliable modes of communicating goals and necessary intermediate steps. Moreover, health professionals are well advised to invite individuals to confront existential questions and struggles, and to encourage them to exercise self-control. The latter can be boosted by keeping higher-order goals salient—which again is inherently linked to an understanding of their meaning.
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Reaction to the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Influence of Meaning in Life, Life Satisfaction, and Assumptions on World Orderliness and Positivity
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2020
The goal of the research was to measure the impact of the meaning in life, life satisfaction, and the beliefs in orderliness and positivity of the social world on emotional and cognitive reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 317 participants were recruited over four days (April 1st–4th) during the start of the dynamic increase of the pandemic in Poland. The study was performed via open-access forums on the internet. The analyses indicated that stronger basic hope and higher levels of meaning in life and life satisfaction correlate with lower state anxiety and lower COVID-19 stress. Mediation analyses suggested the following interpretation of the interdependencies: basic hope supports meaning in life and life satisfaction and the increase in the latter two factors results in lower anxiety and COVID-19 stress. The results suggest that these three global assumptions and feelings may serve as buffers against anxiety as well as nonproductive thinking and decision making in the face of an unpredictable threat.
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What Makes Life Meaningful for Theists and Atheists?
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2019
Meaning in life is a predictor of psychological and physical health, and religiosity has long been associated with meaning. However, little is known about how theists and atheists compare regarding their views on what gives life meaning. We conducted a study to explore similarities and differences between atheists and theists on perceived sources of meaning in life as well as overall perceptions of meaning. Participants responded to a writing prompt, and then their responses were analyzed by trained coders. Although both groups mentioned interpersonal relationships more than any other source of meaning, theists were more likely to reference social (e.g., relationships, parenting) and religious sources of meaning, whereas atheists were more likely to describe their lives as having no meaning and to mention sources of meaning that were not captured by the coded categories. Finally, theists scored significantly higher than atheists on the presence of meaning in life and the need for meaning but not on the search for meaning.
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Daily Meaning Salience and Physical Activity in Previously Inactive Exercise Initiates
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2018
Objective: Individuals living with more experienced meaning, or meaning salience, may be more likely to engage in health behaviors including physical activity. This study examined daily meaning salience and physical activity in previously inactive exercise initiates. Method: Inactive adults (N = 80, 78% female, Mage = 43 years, SD = 11 years) intending to increase physical activity participated in a daily diary study. At baseline, participants completed self-report questionnaires of demographics, global meaning and purpose, depressive symptoms, and motivation. Fitness center attendance was extracted from the member database. Participants self-reported meaning salience, positive mood, negative mood, and physical activity (duration in minutes; intensity in ratings of perceived exertion) daily for the first 28 days. Multilevel and multiple regression analyses were used. Results: Multilevel models revealed that controlling for demographics, mood, and motivation, for every standard deviation increase in meaning salience, participants were 44% more likely to visit the fitness center, odds ratio (OR) = 1.44, 95% CI [1.24,1.68], p < .001. Further, increases in meaning salience above average were positively related to physical activity duration, β = .19, p < .001, and intensity, β = .13, p < .001. Global meaning and purpose were not significantly related to physical activity duration, physical activity intensity, or fitness center visits over the 28 days. Conclusions: Results suggest that increased meaning salience, but not global meaning or purpose, is associated with physical activity participation in previously inactive exercise initiates, and may be a proximal predictor of physical activity behavior. Future research should use ecological momentary assessment (EMA) designs to examine the relationship within days and over longer intervals. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Finding Meaning in Nostalgia
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  • Oct 2017
Nostalgia—defined as sentimental longing for one’s past—is a self-relevant, albeit deeply social, and an ambivalent, albeit more positive than negative, emotion. As nostalgia brings the past into present focus, it has existential implications. Nostalgia helps people find meaning in their lives, and it does so primarily by increasing social connectedness (a sense of belongingness and acceptance), and secondarily by augmenting self-continuity (a sense of connection between one’s past and one’s present). Also, nostalgia-elicited meaning facilitates the pursuit of one’s important goals. Moreover, nostalgia acts as a buffer against existential threats. In particular, it shields against meaning threat, and buffers the impact of mortality salience on meaning, collective identity, accessibility of mortality-related thoughts, and death anxiety. Finally, nostalgia confers psychological benefits to individuals with chronic or momentary meaning deficits. These benefits are higher subjective vitality, lower stress, and regulation of meaning-seeking in response to boredom. Taken together, nostalgia helps people attain a more meaningful life, protects from existential threat, and contributes to psychological equanimity.
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What Predicts Positive Life Events that Influence the Course of Depression? A Longitudinal Examination of Gratitude and Meaning in Life
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2017
  • COGNITIVE THER RES
Decades of research have shown that positive life events contribute to the remission and recovery of depression; however, it is unclear how positive life events are generated. In this study, we sought to understand if personality strengths could predict positive life events that aid in the alleviation of depression. We tested a longitudinal mediation model where gratitude and meaning in life lead to increased positive life events and, in turn, decreased depression. The sample consisted of 797 adult participants from 43 different countries who completed online surveys at five timepoints. Higher levels of gratitude and meaning in life each predicted decreases in depression over 3 and 6 months time. Increases in positive life events mediated the effects of these personality strengths on depression over 3 months; however, not over 6 months. Goal pursuit and positive emotions are theorized to be the driving forces behind gratitude and meaning in life’s effects on positive life events. We used the hedonic treadmill to interpret the short-term impact of positive life events on depression. Our findings suggest the potential for gratitude and meaning in life interventions to facilitate depression remission.
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Meaning-motivated community action: The need for meaning and prosocial goals and behavior
Article
  • Oct 2020
  • PERS INDIV DIFFER
Meaning in life is a fundamental human need and recent research has begun to explore how individual differences in the need for meaning relate to beliefs and behaviors, particularly those involving religion and spirituality. In the present studies, we expanded on recent research to examine the relation between the need for meaning and community-focused motivation and behavior. In Study 1 (N = 399), we explored the relation between need for meaning and a wide range of aspirations, finding that this need is associated with intrinsic, but not extrinsic, goals and especially community-focused goals. In Study 2 (N = 611), we tested the effects of need for meaning on indicators of community-focused prosocial motivation and behavior, controlling for religiosity and other variables. The need for meaning positively predicted most indicators of prosocial motivation and behavior. These findings, combined with previous research, suggest that the meaning motive orients people towards community.
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A Meaningful Life Is a Healthy Life: A Conceptual Model Linking Meaning and Meaning Salience to Health
Article
  • Jul 2017
Accumulating evidence suggests that a global sense of meaning in life is related to physical health, including increased longevity and reduced morbidity. However, the mechanisms responsible for these relationships remain largely unknown and uninvestigated. Moreover, there is no unifying conceptual framework linking meaning in life to physical health. Our aims are to (a) review the literature linking meaning in life to potential mechanisms associated with better physical health; (b) offer a comprehensive conceptual framework associating meaning in life with physical health; and (c) introduce a new construct, meaning salience, as a potentially important intermediary mechanism. Specifically, we review the evidence suggesting that meaning in life is associated with reduced stress, more adaptive coping, and greater engagement in health-promoting behaviors. Our model proposes that effects of global sense of meaning are potentiated through increased meaning salience, or daily awareness of meaning in the moment, which enhances self-regulation. Suggestions are proposed for empirically examining this new model.
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Meaning in Life and Physical Health: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Article
  • May 2017
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify the associations between meaning in life and physical health using random effects models. Conceptualization of meaning (order in world vs purpose in life), type of health indicators, participants’ health status, and age issues were investigated as moderators. Systematic searches of six databases resulted in inclusion of k = 66 studies (total N = 73,546). Findings indicated that meaning in life and physical health formed weak-to-moderate associations (the overall estimate of the average effect = 0.258). Conceptualization of meaning, participants’ health status, and their age did not moderate these associations. Operationalization of health moderated the relationship between meaning in life and health. The strongest associations were found for subjective indicators of physical health. Significant albeit weak associations between meaning in life and objective indices of health were found. Furthermore, stronger effects were observed when the measures of meaning combined items referring to meaning in life and meaning-related sense of harmony, peace, and well-being, compared to measures focusing solely on meaning in life. Overall, the results point to the potential role of meaning in life in explaining physical health.
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The Value of a Purposeful Life: Sense of Purpose Predicts Greater Income and Net Worth
Article
  • Sep 2016
  • J RES PERS
Having a sense of purpose in life appears valuable across life domains, though it remains unclear whether purpose also provides financial value to individuals. The current study examined sense of purpose as a predictor of concurrent and longitudinal income and net worth levels, using two waves of the MIDUS sample of adults (N = 4660 across both assessments). Participants who reported a higher sense of purpose had higher levels of household income and net worth initially, and were more likely to increase on these financial outcomes over the nine years between assessments. Interaction tests suggested some evidence of age moderation, but gender did not appear to moderate the influence of purpose on economic outcomes.
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