Meaning in Life and Coping: Sense of Meaning as a Buffer Against Stress

2014 ◽  
pp. 239-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Halama
Keyword(s):  
Meaning In Life ◽  
And Coping

scholarly journals Meaning in Life as a Moderator between Homophobic Stigmatization and Coping Styles in Adult Offspring from Planned Lesbian-Parent Families

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-606
Author(s):  
Henny Bos ◽  
Audrey S. Koh ◽  
Gabriël van Beusekom ◽  
Esther D. Rothblum ◽  
Nanette Gartrell
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Coping Styles ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Adult Offspring ◽  
Emotional Coping ◽  
And Coping

Abstract Introduction The current study examined whether achieving a sense of meaning in life moderated the association between experienced homophobic stigmatization and coping styles in emerging adult offspring of lesbian mothers. In the sixth wave of the U S National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study, completed in 2017, the 76 participating offspring were 25 years old. Methods The offspring completed an online survey containing questions about homophobic stigmatization, coping styles (problem-focused, active emotional, and avoidant emotional coping), and meaning in life. Results The interaction between homophobic stigmatization and meaning in life was significant for problem-focused and avoidant emotional coping. Further analyses showed that for participants with low levels of meaning in life, exposure to homophobic stigmatization was associated with less problem-focused coping and more avoidant emotional coping. Discussion The social policy implications of these findings suggest that achieving a sense of meaning in life can serve as a protective factor in reducing the negative influence of homophobic stigmatization on coping styles. Social Policy Implications Thus homophobia associated with being raised by sexual minority parents may affect offspring as adults, even after these offspring no longer live with their parents. This finding illuminates the importance of developing a sense of meaning in life by encouraging self-efficacy on the part of schools and community organizations.

scholarly journals Awareness of Meaning in Life is Protective Against Burnout Among Family Physicians: A CERA Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Hooker ◽  
Robert E. Post ◽  
Michelle D. Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Family Medicine ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Program Directors ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Residency Program Directors

Background and Objectives: Burnout is considered a public health crisis among physicians and is related to poor quality of life, increased medical errors, and lower patient satisfaction. A recent literature review and conceptual model suggest that awareness of life meaning, or meaning salience, is related to improved stress and coping, and may also reduce experience of burnout. This study examined associations among meaning salience, burnout, fatigue, and quality of life among family medicine residency program directors. Methods: Data were collected via an online survey administered by the Council of Academic Family Medicine (CAFM) Educational Research Alliance (CERA; n=268, response rate of 45.4%) in December 2018. Program directors completed measures of meaning salience, burnout, fatigue, and quality of life. Data were analyzed using Spearman correlations and path analysis. Results: Program directors who reported greater experienced meaning salience also reported significantly less burnout (β=-.40, P<.001) and less fatigue (β=-.38, P<.001), which were then both significantly associated with greater quality of life (Ps<.001). Program directors who reported greater meaning salience also reported greater quality of life (β=.21, P<.001). Additionally, there were significant indirect associations between meaning salience and quality of life through less burnout and fatigue (β=.26, P<.001). Conclusions: The potential for increasing physicians’ awareness of their sense of meaning as a means to prevent or decrease burnout is underresearched and warrants further study. Both preventive measures (eg, wellness curricula) and interventions with already-distressed physicians may encourage regular reflection on meaning in life, especially during busy workdays.

The Impact of Death Anxiety, Meaning and Coping on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Psychiatric Co-Morbidity Among Iraqi Civilians Exposed to a Car Bomb Attack A Latent Class Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110551
Author(s):  
Man Cheung Chung ◽  
Fuaad Mohammed Freh
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Death Anxiety ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Coping Styles ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Co Morbidity ◽  
Class 1 ◽  
And Coping

Much has been documented that the experience of a bombing is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder and psychiatric co-morbidity. Whether the co-existing relationship between death anxiety, meaning in life and coping styles would influence the aforementioned association is unknown. The present study aimed to identify latent classes of victims with different levels of death anxiety, meaning in life and coping styles, and to examine whether the severity of PTSD and co-morbid psychiatric symptoms differed between classes. One hundred and eighty-five victims who had experienced the first car bombing completed a demographic page, the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnosis Scale, General Health Questionnaire-28, Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale, Meaning in Life Questionnaire and Coping Responses Inventory. The results showed that 82% and 18% of the victims met the criteria for PTSD and no-PTSD, respectively. Four classes of victims were identified: Class 1 victims were approach copers with low levels of death anxiety and meaning. Class 2 victims were minimal copers with high levels of death anxiety and meaning. Class 3 victims were approach copers with a high level of death anxiety and meaning. Class 4 victims were avoidance copers with high levels of death anxiety. Individuals in Class 1 reported significantly lower levels of PTSD and psychiatric co-morbidity than the other three classes. Class 3 victims also reported significantly lower levels of psychiatric co-morbidity than Class 2 victims. To conclude, victims exposed to a car bombing were likely to exhibit posttraumatic stress symptoms in addition to other psychological symptoms. The severity of these symptoms tended to be lower among those who had little fear of death, did not search for meaning in life and approached their distress proactively.

Spirituality as a Coping Strategy among Practitioners and Non Practitioners

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Palkee Baruah ◽  
Dr. Neelam Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Coping Styles ◽  
Belief System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Stress Relief ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Task Oriented

Taking the path less travelled by exploring your spirituality can lead to a clearer life purpose, better personal relationships and enhanced stress management skills. This study explores the role played by spirituality in coping and presents the relationships between spiritual dimensions and coping styles. Spirituality has been considered as an important buffer against stressful events which may help people to overcome their distress and difficulties. Some stress relief tools are very tangible: exercising more, eating healthy foods and talking with friends. A less tangible — but no less useful — way to find stress relief is through spirituality. Spirituality has many definitions, but at its core spirituality helps to give our lives context. It’s not necessarily connected to a specific belief system or even religious worship. Instead, it arises from your connection with yourself and with others, the development of your personal value system, and your search for meaning in life. For many, spirituality takes the form of religious observance, prayer, meditation or a belief in a higher power. For others, it can be found in nature, music, art or a secular community. Spirituality is different for everyone. Methods: One hundred individuals completed questionnaires which included the Expressions of Spirituality Inventory Douglas A. MacDonald 1997 and the Coping Strategies Assessment by DJ, 2008. The results suggest that five spiritual dimensions, i.e., Experiential/ Phenomenological Dimensions (EPD), Cognitive Orientation towards Spirituality (COS), Existential Well- Being (EWB), Paranormal Beliefs (PAR), and Religiousness (REL) play an important role in coping processes. The dimensions have a different impact on particular styles depending on their internal structure. Overall spirituality was associated with Task-oriented and Social Diversion coping. It means that people characterized by a high level of spirituality will try to solve problems through efforts aimed at solving the problem and seeking out social support. There was no statistically significant relationship between Religious attitudes and coping styles. Ethical sensitivity was positively connected with using Task-oriented, Avoidance-oriented, and Social Diversion coping. Harmony was associated positively with Task-oriented, but negatively with Avoidance-oriented, coping. The relationships between spirituality dimensions and coping styles confirmed the assumption that people’s reactions to stress relate to the configuration of their spiritual qualities. Results and Implications: The study reported that there is significant relationship between spirituality and coping. Individuals high on spirituality have positive coping strategies whereas individuals low on spirituality has negative coping strategies. Also it adds to the already existing data pool with equivocal studies.

Exploring the Moderation of Meaning in Life in Barriers and Coping Efficacy Among Women

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 524-537
Author(s):  
Laura Reid Marks ◽  
Kevin A. Tate ◽  
Jennifer M. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Career Barriers ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Educational Barriers ◽  
Class A ◽  
And Coping

In this study, we sought to extend social cognitive career theory and examined the links among perceptions of career and educational barriers, coping self-efficacy, and meaning in life in a diverse sample of women. Five hundred and seventy-nine female participants were recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk where they were asked to complete an online survey. Our analyses revealed a significant negative relationship between educational and career barriers and coping self-efficacy. When controlling for social class, a presence of and a search for meaning in life were not significant moderators of the association between educational and career barriers and coping self-efficacy. However, when not controlling for social class, a presence of a meaning for life did significantly moderate the association between educational barriers and coping self-efficacy. Implications of these findings for counselors working with women on their career development and for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Meaning in Life, Subjective Well-Being, Happiness and Coping at Physicians Attending Balint Groups: A Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 3455
Author(s):  
Ovidiu Popa-Velea ◽  
Alexandra Ioana Mihăilescu ◽  
Liliana Veronica Diaconescu ◽  
Iuliana Raluca Gheorghe ◽  
Adela Magdalena Ciobanu
Keyword(s):  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Life Questionnaire ◽  
Subjective Happiness ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Brief Cope ◽  
Balint Groups ◽  
And Coping ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed to measure the scores of well-being, subjective happiness, sense of meaning, and coping in Romanian physicians and the potential impact on them of systematically attending Balint groups. Eighty participants (33 men, 47 women, mean age 38.90, SD 9.73) were included in the study. From them, 43 had systematically attended a Balint group in the last two years, while the others represented the controls. All participants were administered the Meaning of Life Questionnaire, the Job-related Affective Well-being Scale, the Brief COPE Scale, and the Subjective Happiness Scale. t-tests and MANOVA were used to compare the group scores and the impact of Balint training on the study variables. Results showed that Balintian participants had a lower use of denial and self-blame and were more oriented towards the seeking of emotional and instrumental support. They also reported higher scores in high pleasurable-low arousal emotions, positive emotions, and in the perception of the presence of meaning. Still, when considering other additional predictors (gender, age), the distinct impact of Balint training remained limited to the preference for certain coping mechanisms. These results could stimulate the use of Balint groups as a tool for the physician’s formation programs.

To what extent does meaning mediate adaptation to cancer? The relationship between physical suffering, meaning in life, and connection to others in adjustment to cancer

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 377-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie Lethborg ◽  
Sanchia Aranda ◽  
Shelley Cox ◽  
David Kissane
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Existential Distress ◽  
Physical Suffering ◽  
Global Meaning ◽  
Living With Cancer ◽  
And Coping ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTObjectives:This study builds on previous work that explored the lived experience of meaning in advanced cancer. The aims were to explore the associations of suffering (physical and existential distress) and coping (via social support) with psychological distress and global meaning using a battery of instruments among adults attending an Australian metropolitan cancer service (n = 100).Methods:The contribution of suffering and coping via social support to psychological distress and meaning were examined using a variety of statistical methods. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to further examine relative contributions to both psychological distress and global meaning.Results:Physical and existential distress were found to be positively associated with psychological distress whereas high social support and personal meaning are related to lower levels of psychological distress. Social support was the strongest correlate of global meaning whereas high levels of existential distress were related to lower levels of global meaning. On the basis of this study, it is concluded that the factors related to suffering clearly promote psychological distress, and the reverse is true for global meaning for those living with cancer.Significance of results:This study speaks to the clinical complexity of the dynamic experience of suffering and meaning in cancer. We need to better understand the impact of physical suffering and meaning in the lives of this population and to actively work toward the enhancement of social support and connection with others for this group. Optimal palliative and family-centered care blended with therapies that promote a sense of meaning of life lived appear crucial to ameliorate suffering.

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