Sources of life meaning among South African university students

A bibliometric review of positive psychology and well-being research in Africa

Positive Psychology rapidly developed into an influential field of study and intervention, initially situated in Psychology, and later becoming multidisciplinary. Research interest in the study of (psychological) well-being has gained global popularity, with increasing salience in Africa. Although the global trends of these developments are relatively well-known, a bibliometric analysis of positive psychology research in Africa was necessary to shed light on the present hotspots and trends and future trajectories in this region of the world. The data source of the present bibliometric analysis study was Scopus, from which Positive Psychology and well-being research literature from Africa between 1983 and 2023 were searched. Using biblioshiny and VOSviewer, the 622 extracted articles were analysed, from which findings about the current condition, research hotspots, and thematic developmental patterns could be made. Africa experienced an initial slow growth period from 1983 until 2005, after which a rapid growth in research productivity, relevance and impact was experienced. In this regard, the results show that the focal point of scientific productivity is South Africa, with the dominance of South African institutions, particularly the North-West University, from where most positive psychology research is produced and cited. Even with potential access to international journal, African researchers seem to prefer to place their publications in the regional journals such as Journal of Psychology in Africa and South African Journal of Psychology. The research reviewed tends to be characterised by more dominant thematic clusters of positive psychology, psychological well-being, and subjective well-being, with a focus on human individuals. An increasing concern for contextual factors and potential antecedents and dynamics of well-being is also observed. The findings provide a good map from which identification of future research priorities can be deduced. As such, we speculate that future positive psychology research in Africa ought to be concerned with the following: greater distribution and intercountry collaborations across the continent, questions of conceptual clarity of terms, better understanding of contextual factors which influence well-being, and well-being research embracing the complexity of bio-psycho-social-ecological well-being, and science concerned with health-promotion interventions.

Beneficial Effects of Spiritual Experiences and Existential Aspects of Life Satisfaction of Breast and Lung Cancer Patients in Poland: A Pilot Study

Spiritual and existential issues are important factors for oncology patients' well-being. This study aimed to examine the beneficial role of spiritual experience, hope, and meaning in life for life satisfaction in patients diagnosed with breast and lung cancer. It was hypothesized that spiritual experiences and life satisfaction are indirectly related through hope, as well as meaning in life mediates the relationship between hope and life satisfaction. It was a pilot study with a sample consisting of 4 men and 46 women, 24-83 years of age oncology patients. The following measures were used: Cantril Ladder, Purpose in Life Test, Herth Hope Index as well as Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale. A sample of Polish patients with breast and lung cancer confirmed the beneficial effects of spiritual experiences and existential aspects of life for their life satisfaction. According to obtained results, hope was indirectly related to life satisfaction through meaning in life. Also, spiritual experiences were positively indirectly related to life satisfaction through the pathway of hope and meaning in life. Theoretical and practical implications of the achieved results were discussed.

Meaning in Life Among Ghanaian University Students: Does Religious Commitment Matter?

Religiosity is widespread in Africa and permeates the life of the continent's young adults in ways yet to be fully understood. It is unclear what meanings young Africans perceive with their religiosity or the pathways to experiencing meaning. Therefore, we investigated the role of religious commitment in the search for and experience of meaning among young people in Ghana. In a cross-sectional design study, 342 Ghanaian students (female = 67%; mean age = 21 years, SD = 3.25) completed the Religious Commitment Inventory and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire. Structural equation modelling (SEM) in Mplus was used to test direct and interaction effects to demonstrate the dynamic relationships among religious commitment, and the search for and the presence of meaning. While results indicated a positive association between religious commitment and presence of meaning, the search for meaning was unrelated to religious commitment or presence of meaning. The interaction between search for meaning and religious commitment did not result in a significant effect on presence of meaning. These findings suggest that in this Ghanaian sample, religious commitment played a role in determining meaningful life experience, but the search for meaning did not play a role in the experience of meaning.

Motivations for Relationships as Sources of Meaning: Ghanaian and South African Experiences

Afrocentric paradigms reflect assumptions of the overarching importance of interconnectedness and social bonds in meaningful experiences. It is, however, not known if types of relatedness vary in importance as meaning sources in the subjective experiences of laypeople, or what the reasons are that they ascribe to the importance of relationships. The empirical and theoretical substantiation of philosophical assumptions is needed to provide a scientific basis for appropriate well-being interventions in African contexts. Therefore, this study aimed to empirically explore the relative importance of various types of relationships as sources of meaning and in particular why relationships are important to laypeople in relatively collectivist African contexts. Using a bottom-up qualitative approach with quantification of responses, this study explored how prominently relationships featured as meaning sources compared to other domains of life and then, in particular, the motivations for the importance of various types of relationships as found in four African samples: a Ghanaian urban group (n = 389), a South African multicultural, English-speaking urban group (n = 585), and two South African Setswana-speaking groups (n = 512 rural, n = 380 urban). Findings showed that the relational domains of life, namely, family, interpersonal relations, spirituality/religion, and community/society, made up a large proportion of responses on what provides meaning in life−in particular family and spirituality/religion with community/society occurring the least. The reasons for meaning experienced in various relationship types included domain-typical relational descriptors, such as contributions made or rewards received. However, many intrapersonal motives also emerged: inner well-being, happiness, joy, a sense of competence, and own growth. Material needs and harmony also surfaced as motivations for relational importance. Findings are aligned with African philosophical perspectives as far as the importance of relationships and the value attached to spirituality/religion are concerned, but contributed additionally by showing that different types of relationships vary in importance: close relationships are more important than community/societal relationships. Unearthing the reasons for the importance of relationships points toward a dialectic pattern of African individualism–collectivism in which independent and interdependent orientations flow together. Such knowledge is vital for the promotion of mental health and well-being in these contexts.

Finding Meaning With Creativity in the Past, Present, and Future

Being creative is considered a desirable trait, yet most empirical studies emphasize how to increase creativity rather than explore its possible benefits. A natural connection is how creativity can enhance life's meaning. Many of the core concepts in work on the meaning of life, such as the needs for coherence, significance, and purpose or the desire for symbolic immortality, can be reached through creative activity. The synthesis of these two constructs-creativity and the meaning of life-is discussed with a temporal model encompassing past, present, and future pathways to creativity. The past pathway can help one understand and reflect on life. The present pathway can remind one of life's joy and the many possible connections with humanity. Finally, the future pathway strives to ensure some type of legacy that may resonate with younger generations.

Representations of Hope, Goals, and Meaning From Lay Person’s Perspectives in Two African Contexts

In the rapidly expanding field of positive psychology, a core question is now what the relationships among various positive constructs are and how we can understand this in various contexts. We aimed to explore the possible nomological network linking the constructs hope, goals, and meaning from a bottom-up Africentric perspective in two African contexts (Ghana and South Africa) among samples of 18 emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 25 years in each context. Connotations of hope, goals, and meaning as experienced by participants were thematically analyzed and thereafter conceptually clustered. These clusters formed overlapping nodes indicating the nomological network among constructs. Apart from positive intrapersonal cognitive processes linking the main constructs, the fulfillment of various well-being needs, embedded-ness in horizontal and vertical relationships, intertwined understandings, and links across domains of life came to the fore as nodes linking the constructs hope, goals, and meaning in the current sample. Our findings further illustrated that African-centered perspectives on the interconnectedness of things through spirituality and relationships endorse positive psychology views that emphasize relational dimensions as crucial aspects of cognitive well-being.