Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life

A meaningful life is worth living: meaning in life as a suicide resiliency factor

Given the high rate of suicide worldwide, it is imperative to find factors that can confer resiliency to suicide. The goal of the present study was to examine the search for and the presence of meaning in life as possible resilience factors. We hypothesized that the presence of, but not the search for, meaning in life would predict decreased suicidal ideation over an eight-week time period and decreased lifetime odds of a suicide attempt. We also examined a subsidiary hypothesis that the presence of, but not the search for, meaning in life would mediate the relationship between the two variables associated with the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide (i.e., perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness) and suicidal ideation. Our results were generally in support of our hypothesis: presence of meaning in life predicted decreased suicidal ideation over time and lower lifetime odds of a suicide attempt. Surprisingly, search for meaning in life also predicted decreased suicidal ideation over time. Finally, the search for, but not presence of, meaning in life mediated the relationship between the interpersonal psychological theory variables and suicidal ideation. These findings suggest that interventions that target meaning in life may be useful to attenuate suicide risk in individuals.

Meaning-in-life in nursing-home patients: a correlate with physical and emotional symptoms

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To investigate the prevalence of physical and emotional symptoms and the associations between symptoms and meaning-in-life in a cognitively intact nursing-home population.

BACKGROUND

Meaning has been found to be a strong individual predictor of successful ageing and life satisfaction as well as an important psychological variable that promotes well-being. Meaning serves as a mediating variable in both psychological and physical health.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The study employed a cross-sectional design. Data were collected in 2008 and 2009 using the QLQ-C15-PAL quality-of-life questionnaire, the purpose-in-life test and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A total of 250 cognitively intact nursing-home patients who met the inclusion criteria were approached and 202 attended.

RESULTS

The prevalence of symptoms was fairly high, with fatigue (57%), pain (49%), constipation (43%) and dyspnoea (41%) as the most frequent physical symptoms, while 30% were depressed and 12% had anxiety. Significant correlations between meaning-in-life and symptom severity were displayed.

CONCLUSIONS

The level of symptom severity among cognitively intact nursing-home patients is high, requiring highly competent staff nurses. Meaning-in-life might be an important resource in relation to a patient's physical and emotional health and global well-being.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Facilitating patients' meaning-in-life might help reducing symptom severity and fostering quality of life in cognitively intact nursing-home patients. However, advancing staff nurses' competence in palliative care, symptom management and nurse-patient interaction is important for care quality and quality if life in nursing homes.

Residents of poor nations have a greater sense of meaning in life than residents of wealthy nations

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.

An Empirical Investigation of Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapeutic Model

The purpose of this study was to investigate the logotherapeutic model as described by Frankl that explains the relationships among the search for meaning in life, the presence of meaning in life, existential vacuum, existential frustration, noogenic neurosis, will-to-power, and will-to-pleasure. A sample of college students from a large Mid-Atlantic university ( N = 750) completed paper-and-pencil instruments for the variables. Structural equation modeling was used to test and compare four competing alternative models of the relationships among the aforementioned constructs. Two models exhibited excellent fit, one model good fit, and the fourth model poor fit. Of the two best models, one treated will-to-power and will-to-pleasure as outcomes of noogenic neurosis and the other treated them as causes of noogenic neurosis. Limitations, suggestions for future research, and implications for clinical practice are also discussed.

Expectancy violations and the search for meaning among breast cancer survivors

A number of theoretical perspectives suggest that expectancy violations (EVs) threaten a person's sense of meaning and prompt efforts to reinstate meaning. Yet, little to no research has explicitly examined whether EVs predict actual efforts to search for meaning. The current research redresses this gap in the literature among a sample of breast cancer survivors. The results revealed that EVs, but not life satisfaction, positively predicted the search for meaning. By comparison, the presence of meaning was predicted by both EVs and life satisfaction. Further, EVs predicted an increased search for meaning among participants who simultaneously believed that their life had high levels of meaning. Thus, personal EVs may offer a compelling framework for understanding what prompts searches for meaning.

A functional genomic perspective on human well-being

To identify molecular mechanisms underlying the prospective health advantages associated with psychological well-being, we analyzed leukocyte basal gene expression profiles in 80 healthy adults who were assessed for hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, as well as potentially confounded negative psychological and behavioral factors. Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being showed similar affective correlates but highly divergent transcriptome profiles. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from people with high levels of hedonic well-being showed up-regulated expression of a stress-related conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA) involving increased expression of proinflammatory genes and decreased expression of genes involved in antibody synthesis and type I IFN response. In contrast, high levels of eudaimonic well-being were associated with CTRA down-regulation. Promoter-based bioinformatics implicated distinct patterns of transcription factor activity in structuring the observed differences in gene expression associated with eudaimonic well-being (reduced NF-κB and AP-1 signaling and increased IRF and STAT signaling). Transcript origin analysis identified monocytes, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, and B lymphocytes as primary cellular mediators of these dynamics. The finding that hedonic and eudaimonic well-being engage distinct gene regulatory programs despite their similar effects on total well-being and depressive symptoms implies that the human genome may be more sensitive to qualitative variations in well-being than are our conscious affective experiences.

Self-transcendent positive emotions increase spirituality through basic world assumptions

Spirituality has mostly been studied in psychology as implied in the process of overcoming adversity, being triggered by negative experiences, and providing positive outcomes. By reversing this pathway, we investigated whether spirituality may also be triggered by self-transcendent positive emotions, which are elicited by stimuli appraised as demonstrating higher good and beauty. In two studies, elevation and/or admiration were induced using different methods. These emotions were compared to two control groups, a neutral state and a positive emotion (mirth). Self-transcendent positive emotions increased participants' spirituality (Studies 1 and 2), especially for the non-religious participants (Study 1). Two basic world assumptions, i.e., belief in life as meaningful (Study 1) and in the benevolence of others and the world (Study 2) mediated the effect of these emotions on spirituality. Spirituality should be understood not only as a coping strategy, but also as an upward spiralling pathway to and from self-transcendent positive emotions.

World Cup’s Impact on Mental Health and Lifestyle Behaviors in the General Population

Objectives. This study compares the prevalence of health-related behaviors and mental health well-being in the Hong Kong general male population before and after the 2006 World Cup finals. Study design. Two anonymous, serial, comparable cross-sectional surveys. Methods. A total of 500 and 530 adult Chinese men, respectively, were interviewed in 2 telephone surveys before and after the finals. Results. Those interviewed after the World Cup were more likely to eat snacks more than 3 d/wk, to be binge drinkers, or to spend more than 2 h/d communicating with family members. They were less likely to have higher General Health Questionnaire or lower Short Form-36 Health Survey Vitality scores (odds ratio [OR] = 0.684 and 0.765), to perceive family-related or work-related stress (OR = 0.327 and 0.345), or to self-report being sick or have visited a doctor (OR = 0.645 and 0.722). All variables between watchers versus nonwatchers of World Cup games were significant or marginally significant. Conclusions. Public health education should be incorporated into global sport events.

Encounters with objective coherence and the experience of meaning in life

The experience of meaning is often conceptualized as involving reliable pattern or coherence. However, research has not addressed whether exposure to pattern or coherence influences the phenomenological experience of meaning in life. Four studies tested the prediction that exposure to objective coherence (vs. incoherence) would lead to higher reports of meaning in life. In Studies 1 and 2 (combined N = 214), adults rated photographs of trees presented in patterns (organized around their seasonal content) or randomly. Participants in the pattern conditions reported higher meaning in life than those in the random conditions. Studies 3 and 4 (combined N = 229) yielded similar results when participants read coherent, as opposed to incoherent, linguistic triads. The manipulations did not influence explicit or implicit affect. Implications for understanding the human experience of meaning, the processes that support that experience, and its potential role in adaptation are discussed.

Relationships between Meaningful Activity, Basic Psychological Needs, and Meaning in Life: Test of the Meaningful Activity and Life Meaning Model

The author of this study proposed and examined a theoretical model in which meaningful activity fulfills basic psychological needs and contributes to meaning in life. Hypotheses derived from the Meaningful Activity and Life Meaning model and tested within this study included: (1) meaningful activity will be associated with meaning in life, (2) meaningful activity will be associated with basic psychological needs, and (3) basic psychological needs will partially mediate the relationship between meaningful activity and meaning in life. Structural equation modeling with latent variables was used to test the study hypotheses. A total of 591 undergraduate and graduate students completed the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey, the Basic Psychological Needs Scales (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness), and the Presence subscale of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire. Results from the study were in full support of each hypothesis and indicate the important role meaningful activity may serve in fostering meaning in life.

Meaning-in-Life in Nursing Home Patients: A Validation Study of the Purpose-in-Life Test

Background: The experience of meaning has been found to be a strong individual predictor of life satisfaction and an important psychological variable that promotes well-being. Therefore, a valid and reliable measurement of meaning-in-life among nursing home patients is highly warranted. Aims: This study intended to further investigate (a) the factor structure of the Purpose-in-Life test (PIL), (b) the reliability of PIL scores, and (c) the construct validity of the PIL test in a nursing home population. Methods: Participants were 202 cognitively intact nursing home patients representing 44 different Norwegian nursing homes. Concerning the dimensionality of the PIL, the following 3 measurement models were tested using confirmatory factor analysis; the original 1-factor, a 2-factor, and a 3-factor model. Results: With the exclusion of 10 items, a previously published and supported 2-factor construct for the PIL by Morgan and Farsides (2007) provided a good fit for older nursing home patients, demonstrating good measurement reliability and construct validity. Conclusion: The 2-factor model by Morgan and Farsides, comprising 10 items, is an improvement over the original 20-items PIL, based on these nursing home data. The measure yielded highly significantly factor loadings, good values for average variance extracted and composite reliability, as well as significant correlations in the expected direction for relevant selected measures; all supporting the construct validity.

Need Satisfaction and Well-Being

According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), satisfaction of needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness is a universal requirement for psychological well-being. We tested this hypothesis with college students in the United States, Australia, Mexico, Venezuela, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, and Japan. Participants rated the extent to which these needs, plus needs for self-actualization and pleasure-stimulation, were satisfied in various roles and reported their general hedonic (i.e., positive and negative affect) and eudaimonic (e.g., meaning in life, personal growth) well-being. Asian participants averaged lower than non-Asian participants in perceived satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and self-actualization needs and in most aspects of eudaimonic well-being, and these differences were partially accounted for by differences in dialecticism and independent self-construals. Nonetheless, perceived need satisfaction predicted overall well-being to a similar degree in all cultures and in most cultures provided incremental prediction beyond the Big Five traits. Perceived imbalance in the satisfaction of different needs also modestly predicted well-being, particularly negative affect. The study extended support for the universal importance of SDT need satisfaction to several new cultures.

Whether, When, and How Is Spirituality Related to Well-Being? Moving Beyond Single Occasion Questionnaires to Understanding Daily Process

Prior research suggests that spirituality is positively related to well-being. Nevertheless, within-person variability in spirituality has yet to be addressed. Do people experience greater spirituality on some days versus others? Does daily spirituality predict daily well-being? Do within-person relationships between spirituality and well-being vary as a function of trait spirituality? The authors examined such questions using a daily diary study with 87 participants who provided reports of their daily spirituality and well-being for a total of 1,239 days. They found that daily spirituality was positively related to meaning in life, self-esteem, and positive affect, and the link from daily spirituality to both self-esteem and positive affect was fully mediated by meaning in life. Moreover, within-person relationships between daily spirituality and self-esteem and meaning in life were stronger for people higher in trait spirituality. Lagged analyses found positive relationships between present day spirituality and next day’s meaning in life; there was no evidence for meaning in life as a predictor of the next day’s spirituality. When focusing on affect, for people higher in trait spirituality, greater negative affect (and lower positive affect) predicted greater spirituality the next day. These results provide new insights into how spirituality operates as a fluctuating experience in daily life.

A focused intervention for 1st-year college students: promoting hope, sense of coherence, and self-efficacy

Many students experience elevated psychological distress during their 1st year at college. Within the salutogenic paradigm (A. Antonovsky, 1987), sense of coherence (SOC), self-efficacy, and hope (in terms of hope theory; C. R. Snyder, 2002) are considered as protective factors in the demanding academic system. Study goals were to examine the outcomes of a focused workshop for 43 students, targeting the promotion of hope, sense of coherence, and self-efficacy for enhancing students' academic adjustment as expressed through their grades. Results revealed an effect over the 3 measurement time-points (before the workshop, immediately after it, and after 1 month), as well as the interactions of time and hope levels. Although their mean grades were not statistically different before the intervention, students who achieved higher levels of hope following the workshop got higher grades in the semester following the intervention. SOC and self-efficacy scores were significantly related both to hope levels after 1 month and to mean grades. The implications of this study for promoting a hopeful orientation in educational systems are discussed, and future interventional research is suggested.

Meaning Making through Occupations and Occupational Roles: A Heuristic Study of Worker-Writer Histories

Introduction:

Occupations are recognised in occupational therapy and occupational science literature as vehicles to meaning and wellbeing. Yet, the question of how they are used to create meaning has not been investigated exhaustively. In this study, the researchers explored the life histories of worker-writers in the United Kingdom. These writers considered themselves as representatives of the most numerous but marginalised social class. The researchers considered how the worker-writers derived life meaning from their occupations and occupational roles.

Method:

Using heuristic research methods, 34 published autobiographies were analysed to elicit themes illuminating how meaning was created by the worker-writers through occupations and occupational roles.

Results:

Five themes emerged from the analysis. Worker-writers created meaning by engaging in occupations and occupational roles that fostered family life and other meaningful relationships; a sense of control over their lives; meaningful leisure pursuits; a contribution to or connection to greater causes; and a sense of wellbeing.

Conclusion:

No claims are being made in this study about the generalisability of the findings to clinical practice. However, occupational therapists may consider exploring ways of helping clients engage in occupations reflecting themes that emerged from the study, as a way of helping them to reconstruct their lives following life-changing events or conditions.

Happiness as a Motivator

What motivates individuals to invest time and effort and overcome obstacles (i.e., strive for primary control) when pursuing important goals? We propose that positive affect predicts primary control striving for career and educational goals, and we explore the mediating role of control beliefs. In Study 1, positive affect predicted primary control striving for career goals in a two-wave longitudinal study of a U.S. sample. In Study 2, positive affect predicted primary control striving for career and educational goals and objective career outcomes in a six-wave longitudinal study of a German sample. Control beliefs partially mediated the longitudinal associations with primary control striving. Thus, when individuals experience positive affect, they become more motivated to invest time and effort, and overcome obstacles when pursuing their goals, in part because they believe they have more control over attaining their goals.

Can positive thinking help? Positive automatic thoughts as moderators of the stress-meaning relationship

The purpose of this study was to test whether positive automatic cognitions moderated the relationship between event stressfulness and meaning in life. Measures of these constructs were administered to 232 students and community-dwelling adults. Supporting hypotheses and the literature, positive automatic cognitions moderated the relationship between event stressfulness and meaning in life. For persons with high levels of positive thinking, greater event stressfulness was associated with higher meaning in life. For persons with low levels of positive thinking, greater event stressfulness was associated with lower meaning in life. These results were obtained when controlling for positive affect, as well as the positive affect × event stressfulness interaction. The positive cognitions × event stressfulness interaction accounted for 2.9% of variance, and the overall model accounted for 47% of the variance in meaning in life.

Don't hide your happiness! Positive emotion dissociation, social connectedness, and psychological functioning

It is now clear that positive emotion leads to enhanced psychological functioning. What is less clear, however, is just why this is so. Drawing on a social-functional perspective, we argue that positive emotional behavior that accurately signals to others the individual's internal state will enhance social connectedness. Positive emotional behavior that does not accurately signal a person's experience--such as a smile that is not felt--may impede social connectedness and, in turn, psychological functioning. This perspective suggests that (a) the degree to which experience and behavior are dissociated during positive emotional episodes, over and above level of positive behavior, should predict worse psychological functioning and (b) the effect of dissociation should be mediated by social connectedness. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a short-term prospective longitudinal study, with a baseline assessment of depressive symptoms and well-being at Time 1. Six months later, at Time 2, we used a novel within-individual laboratory paradigm to measure the degree to which positive emotional behavior was dissociated from (vs. coherent with) a participant's positive emotional experience. We also assessed level of positive behavior and experience. Then, another 6 months later, we assessed social connectedness as a mediator and depressive symptoms and well-being as outcomes at Time 3. Even when controlling for baseline functioning and for level of positive emotion behavior and experience, we found that greater positive experience-behavior dissociation at Time 2 predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower levels of well-being at Time 3. As predicted, these associations were mediated by social connectedness.

A Grounded Theory of the Development of Noble Youth Purpose

Having a noble purpose in life is an important component of positive youth development; however, little is known about how noble purposes develop over time. Therefore, using three waves of interviews over a 5-year period with 9 adolescents ( N = 9) who demonstrated intense commitments to various noble purposes, the present study developed a grounded theory of the development of noble purpose, including a focus on how commitment was initiated, sustained, increased, and changed over time. Results revealed the exemplars made commitments early in life. With the exception of triggering experiences, which immediately intensified their level of commitment, commitment generally grew slowly but steadily in response to positive feedback. Mentors and like-minded peers played an important role in supporting noble purposes over time, and access to new resources led exemplars to expand their focus. Implications for supporting the development of noble purposes are addressed.

Feeling like you know who you are: perceived true self-knowledge and meaning in life

The essence of who a person really is has been labeled the "true self," and an emerging area of research suggests that this self-concept plays an important role in the creation of a fulfilling existence. Three studies investigate the role of the subjective feeling that one possesses knowledge of one's true self in meaning in life judgments. Consistently, the perception of availability of true self-knowledge (operationalized as the metacognitive experience of ease in describing one's true self) predicted meaning in life judgments over and above other potentially related constructs such as mood and self-esteem. Conversely, the subjective availability of knowledge of how one actually behaves (i.e., one's actual self) was unrelated to meaning in life judgments. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Is Life Nasty, Brutish, and Short? Philosophies of Life and Well-Being

Three studies examine the extent to which laypeople endorse Hobbes's (1651/1960) view of life as “nasty, brutish, and short” and explore the relationships between this philosophy and well-being. Participants answered two binary choice questions: Is life short or long? And, is life easy or hard? Across a series of studies, the majority of participants indicated that they believed that life is short and hard, while the opposite philosophy, that life is long and easy, was least popular. In addition, these philosophies were correlated with participants' views of their lives: the short-hard philosophy was associated with lower levels of well-being (Studies 1 through 3), civic engagement (Study 2), and optimism about the future (Study 3), compared to the long-easy philosophy.

A review of the tripartite structure of subjective well-being: implications for conceptualization, operationalization, analysis, and synthesis

Subjective well-being (SWB) comprises a global evaluation of life satisfaction and positive and negative affective reactions to one's life. Despite the apparent simplicity of this tripartite model, the structure of SWB remains in question. In the present review, the authors identify five prominent structural conceptualizations in which SWB is cast variously as three separate components, a hierarchical construct, a causal system, a composite, and as configurations of components. Supporting evidence for each of these models is reviewed, strengths and weaknesses are evaluated, and commonalities and discrepancies among approaches are described. The authors demonstrate how current ambiguities concerning the tripartite structure of SWB have fundamental implications for conceptualization, measurement, analysis, and synthesis. Given these ambiguities, it is premature to propose a definitive structure of SWB. Rather, the authors outline a research agenda comprising both short-term and longer-term steps toward resolving these foundational, yet largely unaddressed, issues concerning SWB.