Does Reflection on Everyday Events Enhance Meaning in Life and Well-Being among Emerging Adults? Self-Efficacy as Mediator between Meaning in Life and Well-Being

In recent years, the issue of the meaning in life has aroused particularly great interest in researchers considering the question of whether and how, using simple interventions, outside the therapeutic office, the sense of meaning in life and well-being can be strengthened. The aim of this study was to explore whether interventions based on reflection on everyday, stressful situations can contribute to fostering the sense of meaning in life and psychological well-being among emerging adults. Additionally, we aimed to explore relationships between the above-mentioned constructs and self-efficacy. The research focuses on emerging adults, who, as statistics show, are the most vulnerable among all adults to various mental problems. A pretest–posttest control group design was used. The study involved 80 emerging adults (56 women and 24 men) who were randomly assigned to the experimental group, which completed specially prepared diaries for a week, or the control group. Participants completed the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being twice. In the experimental group, significant differences were noted between pretest and posttest in psychological well-being, especially in the area of relationships with others (Mpretest = 59.3; Mposttest = 65.07; t(39) = −11.40; p = 0.001) and purpose in life (Mpretest = 54.85; Mposttest = 58.21; t(39) = −3.15; p = 0.003), as well as self-efficacy (Mpretest = 28.06; Mposttest = 29.60; t(39) = −2.82; p = 0.007). There were no differences in the level of meaning in life. The analysis carried out showed that self-efficacy mediates the relationship between presence of meaning in life and psychological well-being (the Aroian test: z = 4.48; SE = 0.11; p = 0.0007).

Meaning in Life During Covid-19 Pandemic and Social Interaction Anxiety : The Relevant Facets

The meaning of life is steadily altering in the Covid-19 pandemic scenario. Since birth, life and living have been the major preoccupation of every human being. However, there remains a constant possibility of death owing to a pandemic breakout. The ways of social interaction and associated psychosocial issues are also of great importance in the present condition. This study thus aimed at finding out the interrelationship between meaning in life and social interaction anxiety among young adults. The study used a quantitative research method with the help of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire by Steger and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale by Mattick and Clarke on 100 samples of both the Gender, i.e., male and female aged between 21 to 25 years. The findings showed that meaning in life has a significant negative correlation with social interaction anxiety. And social interaction anxiety is found out to be negatively predicted by meaning in life.

Interpersonal Forgiveness and Meaning in Life in Older Adults: The Mediating and Moderating Roles of the Religious Meaning System

Forgiving others may play an important role in achieving meaning in life as it offers a valuable platform for deliberate moral acts of acceptance of positive affect, behaviour, and cognition towards a transgressor. The aim of this paper was to analyse the relationship between forgiveness and presence, and the search for meaning in life, as well as the mediating role of the religious meaning system in this relationship among older adults. A total of 205 older adults, 112 women and 93 men, participated in the study. The mean age was 72.59. The Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the Religious Meaning System Questionnaire were employed in the research; revenge and avoidance revealed negative correlations with presence, whereas benevolence showed positive correlations, but not with the search for meaning in life. The religious meaning system was confirmed as a mediator in the relationships between forgiveness (revenge, avoidance, and benevolence) and both presence and the search for meaning. The findings point to the significant role played by religious beliefs and behaviour in the domain of purpose and goals. Additionally, testing the mediation and moderation effects sheds new light on the interaction of compassion- and goal-oriented mechanisms in older adults’ meaning in life.

Inspiration, meaning in life and gratitude as predictors of subjective well-being in the case of a group of students

The aim of the present study is to determine the prediction level of gratitude, meaning in life, and inspiration on Subjective Well-being (SWB). 325 undergraduates (149 males and 176 females) with Mage=19,29 (S.D.=1,40) participated in the study. In order to measure the respective concepts, we used the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE), the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), the Inspiration Scale (IS), and Single-item measures for life satisfaction and gratitude. The study used descriptive, correlational, and regression analyses. The results of the regression analyses showed that gratitude accounts for most of the SWB variance. The presence of meaning affects SWB positively, while the search for meaning is a negative predictor of SWB. Inspiration frequency is one of the weak predictors of SWB, while inspiration intensity is not a significant predictor of SWB. The results are discussed within the context of the existing literature.

Adolescents' interpersonal relationships, self-consistency, and congruence: Life meaning as a mediator

Self-consistency and congruence are indices used to measure individual mental health. We explored the correlations between interpersonal relationships, life meaning, self-consistency, and congruence in adolescents. Participants (N = 886) completed the Comprehensive Diagnosis Scale of Interpersonal Relationships, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire–Chinese Version, and the Self-Consistency and Congruence Scale. Results show there were strong positive correlations between participants' interpersonal relationships, life meaning, selfconsistency, and congruence. Further, life meaning mediated the connections between interpersonal relationships, self-consistency, and congruence. In addition to this indirect effect, interpersonal relationships directly affected participants' self-consistency and congruence. School- or individual-level interventions to help adolescents search for life meaning and improve interpersonal relationships could help improve their self-consistency and congruence.

A Polish Adaptation of the Multidimensional Existential Meaning Scale: Internal Structure, Reliability, and Validity

The aim of this article was to present a Polish adaptation of the Multidimensional Existential Meaning Scale (MEMS) developed by George and Park (2017). The scale proposes a tripartite view of meaning in life, measuring it in three different dimensions: Comprehension, Purpose, and Mattering, which is a new interesting approach to the conceptualization of this factor from a broader, existential perspective. The scale testing procedure involved a research sample consisting of 401 participants. In addition to the MEMS scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) and the Purpose in Life Test (PIL) were used. The results obtained with the Polish version confirmed its reliability and validity, and the three-factor structure. The Cronbach’s α coefficient was .91 for the entire scale and oscillated between .72 and .89 for the subscales. The Polish MEMS contains 9 items; therefore, it is a short tool which can be successfully used in research on meaning in life.

The Influence of Life-and-Death Views on the Well-Being of Chinese Tujia Ethnic Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how a person’s view of life and death might influence various aspects of well-being. Similar studies have been conducted with adolescents in different cultures, but not with Chinese Tujia ethnic adolescents. Tujia adolescents ( N = 309) completed the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), the Death Attitude Profile (DAP), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Happiness Inventory (HI). Results indicated that Chinese Tujia ethnic adolescents maintain a relatively positive life-and-death view and overall well-being. Meaning in life and death attitude both corresponded with overall well-being. A dominance analysis indicated that meaning in life can predict the well-being of a person better than a death attitude. Limitations and future directions are discussed.