The relationship between the meaning of life, psychological well-being, self-care, and social capital, with depression and death anxiety in the elderly living in nursing homes: The mediating role of loneliness

The current study aims to investigate the meaning of life, psychological well-being, self-care, and social capital, with depression and death anxiety in the elderly living in nursing homes through the mediating role of loneliness. The statistical population included all the elderly aged at least 60 years living in Tehran, Qazvin and Zanjan, Iran in 2020, among whom 489 (273 men and 216 women) were selected using convenience sampling method. Participants filled out Steger's Meaning of Life, Ryff and Singer's Psychological Well-Being Scale, Söderhamn et al.'s Self-Care Ability, Nahapiet and Ghoshal's Social capital, Beck's depression, Templer's Death Anxiety, Russell et al.'s Loneliness questionnaires. The results indicated that meaning of life, psychological well-being, self-care, and social capital are negatively associated with loneliness, which in turn, is positively associated to depression. Furthermore, meaning of life, psychological well-being, self-care, and social capital are negatively associated with loneliness, which in turn, is positively associated to death anxiety. Moreover, the results of path analysis revealed that the hypothesized model of the current study has an excellent fit in the study sample. That is, meaning of life, psychological well-being, self-care, and social capital are related to depression and death anxiety through mediating role of loneliness.

How rumination influences meaning in life among Chinese high school students: the mediating effects of perceived chronic social adversity and coping style

Meaning in life can be affected by many factors during adolescence. This study explored the relationship between rumination and meaning in life among high school students, as well as the mediating effect of perceived chronic social adversity and coping style. A sample of 1,275 Chinese high school students were surveyed using four questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using Harman's single-factor test, Pearson's correlation coefficient with confidence intervals (CI), and a structural equation model. We found that rumination significantly negatively affected meaning in life among high school students (β = -0.28, 95% CI = -0.33-0.23). Perceived chronic social adversity (β = -0.14, 95% CI = -0.29-0.02) and negative coping style (β = -0.09, 95% CI = -0.16-0.04) each had mediating effects between rumination and meaning in life. Further, perceived chronic social adversity and coping style had chain-mediating effects between rumination and meaning in life, with both positive (β = -0.11, 95% CI = -0.17-0.07) and negative (β = -0.08, 95% CI = -0.13-0.04) coping styles showing significant effects. To enhance the meaning in life among high school students, appropriate strategies to reduce the levels of rumination and perceived chronic social adversity are needed, while also fostering appropriate coping styles.

Life meaning and mental health in post-9/11 veterans: the mediating role of perceived stress

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Post-9/11 veterans frequently experience diminished mental health following military service. Life meaning is related to better mental health in veterans, yet its mechanism of action is unknown. A meaning-making model suggests that life meaning can reduce perceived stress, thus enhancing mental health. The present study tested this meaning-making model by predicting multiple dimensions of mental health (i.e., symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, insomnia, and depression, and mental health quality of life) from life meaning as mediated by perceived stress.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The present study was a secondary analysis of a 12-month observational study of 367 post-9/11 veterans. Participants completed demographic and health surveys at baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-ups. A multivariate mediation model was created predicting changes in dimensions of mental health from 6 months to 12 months.

RESULTS

Higher life meaning at baseline predicted changes in all dimensions of mental health between 6 and 12 months, an effect mediated by changes in perceived stress between baseline and 6 months.

CONCLUSIONS

Across dimensions of mental health, the meaning-making model was supported. Understanding post-9/11 veteran mental health from this theoretical perspective may help better tailor healthcare efforts and enhance veteran health overall.

Gender differences in the relationships between meaning in life, mental health status and digital media use during Covid-19

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on individuals' social lives, mental health status, and meaning in life (MIL). Globally, the use of different types of digital media has become a proxy for pre-COVID social lives for many people. This study investigated gender differences in the relationship between use of digital media, mental health status and MIL, during COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study surveyed 1,488 young people recruited via city-wide random sampling in 2021. Respondents completed a phone survey on digital media use, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-2), COVID-19 impact, meaning in life, and demographics. Gender differences in MIL were tested with an independent sample t-test. Gender-specific multiple linear regression models tested associations between MIL and explanatory variables of age, educational level, history of diagnosis, digital media use, and mental health status.

RESULTS

There was a significant gender difference in MIL (males (M = 12.90, SD = 4.12); females (M = 13.45, SD = 3.96); t (1485) = -2.656, p = .008). For males, all variables significantly associated to MIL (F (9, 759) = 15.731, p < .000, R2 = .157). However, for females, while the overall model for MIL was significant (F (9, 709) = 12.105, p < .001, R2 = .133), the only significant associated variable was mental health status.

CONCLUSION

Females had significantly better MIL under COVID-19 than males. Digital media use contributed to MIL in males but not females, and there were gender-specific associated factors of MIL.

Psychometric properties of the Purpose In Life-Short Form in the Spanish population

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Purpose in Life Test-Short Form (PIL-SF), a brief self-report measure of the presence of meaning in life (MiL). Participants were 349 nonclinical Spanish undergraduates (225 women, 64.5%, and 124 men, 35.5%), age ranged between 18 and 26 years (M = 20.85; SD = 2.16). The PIL-SF, the Seeking of Noetic Goals-8 Items (SONG-8), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) were used. Descriptive analysis, estimation of the internal consistency, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the PIL-SF were conducted, and correlations between the PIL-SF and the SONG-8, the SWLS, and the OHQ were calculated. The PIL-SF showed good internal consistency and an excellent fit as a unidimensional scale confirming its factorial structure. Regarding construct validity, correlations between the PIL-SF and SWLS (r= 0.59) and OHQ (r = 0.56) were positive, significant (p < 0.001), while correlation between PIL-SF and SONG-8 was negative, significant (r = -0.23, p < 0.001). The Spanish adaptation of PIL-SF seems to be a valid measure of MiL with good internal consistency.

Core self-evaluation and subjective wellbeing: A moderated mediation model

Objectives

Much has been written documenting the positive association between core self-evaluation and adolescents' subjective wellbeing, but little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms which underlay this relationship. This study constructed a moderated mediation model to examine whether meaning in life mediated the relationship between core self-evaluation and subjective wellbeing, and whether this mediating process was moderated by adolescents' self-esteem.

Methods

A sample of 1,185 adolescents (11-17 years of age, 51.3% females) completed the Core Self-Evaluation Scale (CSES), the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES), and the Index of Wellbeing Scale (IWS).

Results

The results indicate that after controlling for gender and age, core self-evaluation contributed significantly to subjective wellbeing (β = 0.900, p < 0.001). Meaning in life played a mediating role in the relationship between core self-evaluation and subjective wellbeing (β = 0.143, p < 0.01), with core self-evaluation indirectly affecting subjective wellbeing through meaning in life (β_indirect = 0.068, 95% CI = [0.024, 0.119]). Self-esteem moderated the path mediated by meaning in life, more specifically, the conditional indirect effect between core self-evaluation and wellbeing was significant for adolescents with medium and low self-esteem (effect = 0.056, 95% CI = [0.014, 0.106]; effect = 0.092, 95% CI = [0.034, 0.159]. Both mediating and moderating effects were shown to exist in the association between core self-evaluation and adolescents' subjective wellbeing.

Discussion

Based on the results, the following suggestions can be made: subjective wellbeing can be promoted through interventions such as enhancing adolescents' core self-evaluation and helping them understand the meaning in life, and that greater attention needs to be paid to adolescents with low self-esteem. The findings of this study helpful to clarify the mediation and moderating mechanism of the beneficial influence of adolescents' core self-evaluation on subjective wellbeing.

The relationship between anxiety and depression under the pandemic: The role of life meaning

Introduction

COVID-19 is a stressor creating much anxiety for the general public, such as anxiety related to possible infection, social distancing, financial strain and uncertainty. As the scientific literature shows that there is an intimate relationship between anxiety and depression, it is important to ask whether anxiety is related to depression under the pandemic and whether spirituality indexed by life meaning can moderate the relationship between anxiety and depression. According to theories highlighting the importance of life meaning, relative to people with a higher level of life meaning, the relationship between anxiety and depression would be stronger in people with a lower level of life meaning.

Methods

Empirically, we collected data in two waves (i.e., before and after the first wave of COVID-19, respectively) from 4,981 adolescents recruited in Sichuan, China. Then, the 41-item “Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders” was employed to measure anxiety symptoms, 20-item “Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale” was utilized to examine depression symptoms, and the “Spirituality Subscale of the Chinese Positive Youth Development Scale” for assessing life meaning.

Results

We found that anxiety significantly predicted depression at each wave and across time. Second, controlling for Wave 1 depression scores, results showed that a drop in Wave 1 anxiety predicted a drop in depressive symptoms over time. Regarding the relationship between meaning in life and depression, spirituality indexed by meaning in life negatively predicted depression at each wave and over time, and predicted change in depression across time. Finally, multiple regression analyses showed that life meaning moderated the predictive effect of anxiety on depression.

Discussion

The findings support the thesis that spirituality serves as a protective factor for psychological morbidity in Chinese adolescents. The study also suggests the importance of helping adolescents to develop life meaning under COVID-19.

Biopsychosocial Correlates of Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating chronic disease that has had increasing prevalence over the last years. We have investigated whether the perceived quality of life is reduced in multiple sclerosis patients compared to control participants with a cross-sectional approach, and how it relates to sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables in MS with multiple regression. To that end, a group of MS patients (n = 50) and a control group (n = 50) that was matched for age and education level filled in the WHOQOL-BREF (perceived quality of life across four domains) and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The participants in the MS group also filled in a clinical questionnaire and three instruments measuring psychosocial variables (the DASS-21 for depression, anxiety, and stress, the Brief-COPE for coping skills, and the Meaning in Life Scale). The results showed that the perceived quality of life was lower in the MS group than in the control group. Multiple regression models incorporating the variables that showed significant correlations with the quality of life indicated that age, professional status, recovery from relapses, depression, active coping, and meaning in life predicted at least one domain of the quality of life. Meaning in life predicted the quality of life in all four of the domains. Although the quality of life in MS is linked to multiple biopsychosocial variables, meaning in life seems crucial.

Qualitative Purpose Profiles of Chinese Student Teachers

Teachers are well positioned to help students cultivate their purpose in life, which is an asset that is associated with optimal development. Teachers must also have a grasp on their own sense of purpose, especially during times of intense social pressure and change, when the capability to sustain and support worthy aims may impart personal resilience and contribute to the social good. To train educators who have this capability, it is therefore vital for teacher education programs to in turn understand their own students' individualized purpose statuses. Using a qualitative person-centered approach, the current study identified purpose profiles of teacher education candidates in China as part of a larger multinational study. Three hundred and thirty-one participants wrote answers to questions about the content and fulfillment of their purpose in life, and statements were reliably coded for how specifically the respondents referenced their purpose, and for whether their purpose aimed to benefit others. A consensual qualitative research approach then identified four purpose profiles: beyond-the-self purpose, self-oriented life goal, daydreamer and purposeless. The meaning of these profiles and their significance for cultivating purpose among China's teachers are discussed.

Transcendental Awe of God and Dimensions of Well-Being: Exploring the Mediating Role of Meaning in Life

Scholars have long speculated that experiencing awe-an emotional state where people believe they are in the presence of something grand-might be beneficial for well-being. We explore a manifestation of awe that is unique to religion-awe of God. Drawing on a national sample from the United States, being in awe of God was associated with lower depression, higher life satisfaction, and better self-rated health, associations partially mediated by the sense of meaning in life. Awe of God may bolster well-being by allowing people to view their life according to the vastness and complexity of a divine plan.

Social Support and Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Roles of Loneliness and Meaning in Life

Identifying which factors influence depressive symptom during the COVID-19 pandemic is highly significant for psychological crisis interventions among adolescents. Social support is likely to be one of the main factors. However, the underlying mechanism is still not well understood in the context of COVID-19. The current study examines whether loneliness and meaning in life mediate the association between social support and depressive symptoms in adolescents. A sample of 1,317 high school students in China were surveyed using the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Chinese Child Loneliness Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. The results showed that social support predicted depressive symptoms directly and indirectly by enhancing loneliness and diminishing the sense of meaning in life. These findings help in providing new entry points in the design of effective depression prevention and intervention for adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effect of an internet-based intervention for adjustment disorder on meaning in life and enjoyment

Introduction

Positive psychological variables, such as meaning in life and the capacity for enjoyment, are important resilience factors against negative behaviors and symptoms. These constructs are related to better emotional regulation strategies, a greater perception of control over one’s life, and better mental health in general. Adjustment disorder (AjD) is a prevalent condition defined as the failure to adapt to a stressful event.

Objective

This study presents secondary analysis data on the effect of an Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention (iCBT) for AjD on meaning in life and capacity for enjoyment, compared to a control group.

Method

The sample consisted of 68 participants with AjD. 34 in the iCBT condition and 34 in the control group). Meaning in life was assessed by the Purpose-in-Life Test-10, and the Environmental Rewards Observation Scale was used to assess the capacity for enjoyment. The iCBT intervention focused on acceptance and processing of the stressful event. Intent-to-treat mixed-model analyses without any ad hoc imputations and using Cohen’s d effect comparisons were conducted.

Results

The results revealed a significant main effect of time and a significant group x time interaction in all the measures. Significantly higher pre-post score differences were found in the treatment condition.

Discussion

Meaning in life and capacity for enjoyment can change after an iCBT intervention for AjD. Therapeutic implications of the results and future lines of research about the role of meaning in life in AjD are discussed.

Job Satisfaction and Psychological Distress among Help-Seeking Men: Does Meaning in Life Play a Role?

Men’s low job satisfaction has been shown to be associated with greater symptoms of psychological distress. Meaning in life may be an important factor in this relationship, but its role as a mediator has not been reported. The present study investigated meaning in life as a mediator in the relationship between job satisfaction and psychological distress among men. A total of 229 employed Canadian men participated in a cross-sectional survey, completing measures of depression and anxiety symptoms, anger severity, job satisfaction, and the presence of meaning in life. Zero-order correlations were calculated, and regression with mediation analyses were conducted; two models were tested: one for anxiety/depression symptoms and one for anger, as the dependent variables. Both mediation models emerged as significant, revealing a significant mediating effect for job satisfaction on the symptoms of psychological distress (anxiety/depression symptoms, anger) through meaning in life, even while controlling for salient confounding variables including COVID-related impacts. Lower job satisfaction was associated with less meaning in life, which in turn was associated with more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and anger. The findings highlight the importance of job satisfaction in the promotion of a sense of meaning in life among men, leading to improved psychological well-being both inside and outside of the workplace.

Why dispositional awe promotes psychosocial flourishing? An investigation of intrapersonal and interpersonal pathways among Chinese emerging adults

Promoting the psychosocial flourishing of emerging adults is crucially important. The tendency to feel awe, as captured by dispositional awe, may be a protective factor that promotes psychosocial flourishing. Inspired by the broaden-and-build theory, the present study sought to investigate the underexplored relationship between dispositional awe and psychosocial flourishing among emerging adults by establishing a dual-mediated model, which focuses on an intrapersonal mechanism of meaning in life and an interpersonal mechanism of social connectedness. Data were collected from a cross-sectional sample of 1213 Chinese emerging adults who completed a series of anonymous questionnaires regarding dispositional awe, psychosocial flourishing, meaning in life, and social connectedness. Results of the correlation analysis revealed positive and significant associations among dispositional awe, meaning in life, social connectedness, and psychosocial flourishing. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that meaning in life and social connectedness fully mediated the association between dispositional awe and psychosocial flourishing. The mediation effect of meaning in life was stronger than that of social connectedness. These findings contributes to the science of flourishing by identifying the internal mechanisms of why dispositional awe promotes the psychosocial flourishing of emerging adults.

An Epigenetic Perspective on Lifestyle Medicine for Depression: Implications for Primary Care Practice

Depression is the most common presenting mental health disorder in primary care. It is also a major contributor to somatic complaints, worsening of chronic medical conditions, poor quality of life, and suicide. Current pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic approaches avert less than half of depression's cumulative burden on society. However, there is a growing body of research describing both how maladaptive lifestyle choices contribute to the development and worsening of depression and how lifestyle-oriented medical interventions can reduce the incidence and severity of depression. This research, largely derived from an emerging field called epigenetics, elucidates the interactions between our lifestyle choices and those epigenetic factors which mediate our tendencies toward either health, or the onset, if not worsening of disease. The present review highlights how lifestyle choices involving diet, physical activity, sleep, social relationships, and stress influence epigenetic processes positively or negatively, and thereby play a significant role in determining whether one does or does not suffer from depression. The authors propose that medical training programs consider and adopt lifestyle medicine oriented instructional initiatives that will enable tomorrow's primary care providers to more effectively identify and therapeutically intervene in the maladaptive choices contributing to their patients' depression.

Sinnverneinung. Warum der assistierte Suizid uns alle angeht

Der Artikel beantwortet die Frage nach der ethischen Bewertung des assistierten Suizids auf neue Weise: indem er die Verneinung von Lebenssinn, wie sie sich in Suiziden oft ausspricht, in den Mittelpunkt rückt. Anders als üblich fasst er die Sinnfrage nicht als bloß individualethische, sondern als sozialethische Angelegenheit auf. Denn der nahezu unvermeidbaren Orientierung am Ziel eines sinnvollen Lebens ist eine grundlegende soziale Verbindung eingeschrieben: eine implizite Wertschätzung von Menschen als potenziellen Sinnquellen und als Subjekten von Urteilen über Lebenssinn. Suizide neigen dazu, diese Verbindung zu negieren. Dieses Verständnis des Suizids kann eine Reihe von evaluativen und normativen Annahmen aufklären und begründen, die in der Debatte um den assistierten Suizid eine prominente Rolle spielen.

Perceived risk, Positive Youth-Parent Relationships, and Internalizing Problems in Adolescents: Initial Development of the Meaningful School Questionnaire

This novel paper aimed to develop the Meaningful School Questionnaire (MSQ) to assess meaning in life in school context and examined whether meaningful school serves as a moderator on the links between the coronavirus risk, youth-parent relationships, and internalizing problems. Participants included 383 adolescents (38.4% male; Mean = 14.23 ± 2.04). Factor analysis yielded a two-factor solution: purpose-enjoyment and responsible understanding. Meaningful school moderated the mediating effect of positive youth-parent relations on the association between coronavirus risk and internalizing problems. Findings suggest that students with greater life meaning exhibit more internalizing problems when coronavirus risk is high and positive youth-parent relationships is low. This evidence supports that life meaning is key to foster the psychological health of young people during the pandemic. Thus, meaning-based intervention strategies could be developed to improve youths' sense of life meaning and purpose in the school context, which in turn enhance their resilience to foster their mental health and flourishing. These programs could facilitate youths to cope with stressful experiences such as the coronavirus pandemic by promoting their protective and promotive resources.

Purpose in Life of Elite Athletes after Spinal Cord Injury

Background: Searching for the meaning of human existence is man’s fundamental orientation. People are free to find meaning in their lives, and while they are not always free to choose the conditions of life, they are free to choose their attitude toward the conditions in which they find themselves. When people experience an unchangeable situation, the most important thing is the attitude they take toward it. This study aimed to identify the sense of meaning in life among elite athletes after a spinal cord injury (SCI) and to analyze the different aspects contributing to this domain. Methods: The study involved five athletes with at least national-level achievements in sports prior to a SCI. The study consisted of an interview using a communicator and filling out two online questionnaires—a personal questionnaire and the Purpose in Life Scale. Results: Analyzing the quantitative results, four participants achieved results indicating a high sense of meaning in life, while one participant achieved a significantly lower result. Conclusions: What affects one’s purpose in life is not so much the objective physical limitation but how much physicality one perceives to have lost as a result of the injury. Elite athletes stay involved in the sporting environment, which prevents the loss of purpose and maintains a sense of meaning at a high level. Both telling the story of your own illness and listening to the stories of others help the process of self-healing.

Meaning in life as a predictor of the general health among medical sciences students: A cross-sectional study

AIM

To investigate the predictive role of meaning in life on the general health among medical sciences students.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

METHODS

Four-hundred medical sciences students were selected by proportional to size sampling. The general health questionnaire and the personal meaning profile were administrated to identify the predictive role of meaning in life on the student's general health. Descriptive statistics and linear regression were administrated.

RESULTS

The mean ± SD of the total score of general health and meaning in life among students was 16.34 ± 6.73 and 71.50 ± 9.78, respectively. In the multiple linear regression model, factors such as father's educational level, and meaning in life can predict a 20% variance of general health among university students. As meaning in life thus emerges as a variable worth further in the health of university students, implementing interventional studies to assess the effect of meaning in life on students' general health is recommended.

Meaningful Living to Promote Complete Mental Health Among University Students in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Maintaining positive mental health can be challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic which undoubtedly caused devastating consequences on people’s lives. There is need to determine factors contributing to mental health of people during the pandemic. The current study aims to examine the effect of meaning in life on complete mental health, which represents the presence of positive functioning and the absence of psychopathological symptoms. The participants of the study included 392 (70.9% female) undergraduate students, ranging in age from 18 to 43 years (M = 20.67 years, SD = 3.66) and they have predominantly been imposed stay-at-home orders for coronavirus right after announcement of COVID-19 restrictions in Turkey. Latent variable path analyses demonstrated significant paths from meaning in life to all components of psychological distress, positive mental health, and subjective well-being. Multi-group analysis showed significant gender differences across the study variables. These findings corroborate the critical role of meaning in life in promoting complete mental health and shed further light on why people high in meaning in life tend to have better mental health than those low in meaning in life within the context of COVID-19.

Overcoming existential loneliness: a cross-cultural study

BACKGROUND

Moving into a long-term care facility (LTCF) can reduce the ability for older adults to engage in meaningful roles and activities and the size of their social network. These changes and losses can lead them to experience existential loneliness (EL)-the intolerable emptiness and lack of meaningful existence resulted from the losses they have experienced. While EL has often been understood as a universal human experience, it has primarily been studied in people from Western cultures; little is known about how EL may be experienced by and manifested in people from Eastern cultures. Hence, this qualitative study aimed to describe the experience and coping of EL in Hong Kong Chinese and Swedish older adults living in LTCFs.

METHODS

A qualitative study using Thorne's (2004) interpretive description was conducted. Thirteen Chinese and 9 Swedes living in LTCFs in Hong Kong, China and Malmo, Sweden, respectively were interviewed about their experience of EL in two series of semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The core theme of "overcoming EL" described the participants' experience of EL, which came about through the combined process of "Feeling EL" and "Self-Regulating". Both Chinese and Swedish participants had similar experience with EL. Realizing that they did not want to living with EL anymore, they coped by reframing their experience and identifying new meaning in their life.

CONCLUSIONS

The study findings suggested that early and clear counselling support that help older adults to define new meaning in life may help them cope. In addition, more opportunities should be available at the LTCFs to promote quality relationships, enable older adults to reflect on their lives with pride, and support their ability to do the things they enjoy.

Horticultural therapy program for mental health of prisoners: Case report

Background

The restricted environment in prison negatively affects psychological health of prisoners, which in turn affects the rehabilitation of the prisoners. Previous studies have shown that horticultural activities were effective in improving psychological health of prisoners. The objectives were to develop a horticultural therapy (HT) program and to determine the association of 12 sessions with participants’ psychological health using case analysis.

Methods

Five cases who were imprisoned at K correctional institution in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea participated in this study. They were diagnosed as a potential risk group of psychological health. The prisoners participated in a HT program once a week (12 weeks, 90 min per session) between April and June 2018 at K correctional institution. The program consisted of cultivation-centered horticultural activities. At the completion of the HT program, depression (Beck Depression Inventory), anger (State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale), and life satisfaction (Satisfaction with Life Scale) were evaluated. Positive changes were found through observations of interviews, workbooks, and emotional change checklists that were recorded in each session.

Results

We observed positive changes in the prisoners’ health conditions measured before and after participating in the HT program. The prisoners who participated in the HT program showed decreased depression (–2.6), and increased self-esteem (+1.2) and life satisfaction (+4.0).

Conclusions

The prisoner rehabilitation HT program was associated with improvements in the participants’ psychological health. Future efforts will be required to investigate the effects of an HT program with a larger sample size to perform statistical analysis for providing convincing evidence.

The Seeking Of Noetic Goals Revisited Among Spanish Young People

This study examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Seeking O f Noetic Goals (SONG) scale and analyzed the correlations with the Purpose in Life (PIL) scale and the gender-related differences. A cross-sectional method design was used. Participants were 349 Spanish undergraduates (225 women, 64.5%, and 124 men, 35.5%), with ages ranging between 18 and 26 years, M = 20.85, SD = 2.16. Spanish versions of both the SONG and PIL were used. A two-factor model (Need for Meaning and Expectations) with eight items (SONG-8), which showed a good fit and internal consistency, as well as a negative correlation with the PIL, was obtained. Men had higher scores than women on the scale and in both factors, and differences were significant for the total score of the SONG-8. A valid, robust, and parsimonious model for the SONG was obtained. The SONG and the PIL are complementary scales.

Meaning in life accounts for the association between long-term ostracism and depressive symptoms: The moderating role of self-compassion

According to the temporal need-threat model, ostracism results in three stages of responses. Research on the responses to ostracism has predominantly focused on the first two stages, and the literature needs further empirical evidence on responses to long-term ostracism. We conducted two studies to better understand the association between long-term ostracism and depressive symptoms. Study 1 found a positive association between long-term ostracism and depressive symptoms. More importantly, Study 1 found the threatened sense of meaning in life partially mediates the relationship. Study 2 further found that self-compassion, a positive and healthy trait, weakens the relationship between long-term ostracism and depressive symptoms. More specifically, self-compassion moderates the relationship between the threatened sense of meaning in life and depressive symptoms. Our findings not only further our understanding about the negative consequences of long-term ostracism but also suggest a possible way to mitigate depressive symptoms associated with long-term ostracism.

Life Themes and Attachment System in the Narrative Self-Construction: Direct and Indirect Indicators

The narration is the instrument that allows individual to organize his experience through a process of attribution and sharing of meaning within social interactions and to translate the extraordinary in normativity. As regards the narrative content there are "narrative genres" that impose thematic constraints on the way of narrating, but these also allow creative variations. According to the theoretical-clinical hypothesis of Life Themes (LTs), Love, Value, Power, Freedom, and Truth are shared attractors of meaning recurring in Life Stories. The influence of attachment system on the development of autobiographical narratives is shown in literature. This article presents a qualitative study of the specific dimensions and valences of the LTs in the adult attachment narratives. The study is part of a broader research project that aims to systematize the theoretical model of LTs in the narrative Self-construction, to study its connections and applications in the field of attachment theory, and to build a useful operative tool in the clinical assessment of patients' stories. We also aimed to study the occurrence of the LTs in the Adult Attachment Interview transcripts, preliminarily exploring possible connections with Internal Working Models. 40 AAI transcripts of 20 men and 20 women (mean age was 33 years old), selected from a larger non-clinical sample employed in an adult attachment study, were analyzed using a phenomenological exploratory approach. For the research design we used a qualitative methodology that ensure a deep and intensive, rather than extensive, analysis, focusing on the complexity of meanings and discussing the results within the research group. Several indicators of LTs have been identified and the interpersonal dimensions were explored. An additional Theme emerged from the recurrence of some indicators: Ethic and Justice. In Dismissing subjects' narrations the theme Value (in terms of being valued) emerges mostly, while in the Preoccupied ones the theme Power (in terms of impositions received), accompanied secondarily by Value and Freedom, occurs more frequently. The most frequent thematic indicators in the F group are related to Love and Truth. Clinical implications of an explicative model of critical Themes are discussed.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Management of Suicidal Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

The management of suicidal crisis remains a major issue for clinicians, driving the development of new strategies to improve suicide prevention.

METHODS

We conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing a 7-week acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) versus relaxation group, as adjunct to treatment as usual for adult outpatients suffering from a current suicidal behavior disorder. The primary outcome was the rate of change in the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale suicidal ideation subscore (adding severity and intensity subscores). Secondary outcomes were the rates of change for depressive symptomatology, psychological pain, anxiety, hopelessness, anger, quality of life, and therapeutic processes. Assessments were performed in the 2 weeks preceding the beginning of the treatment (pretreatment assessment), and within 1 week (posttherapy assessment) and 3 months (follow-up assessment) after therapy completion.

RESULTS

Forty adults were included and randomized. The rate of change in ACT for suicidal ideation at the posttherapy assessment was higher than in the relaxation group (β [SE] = -1.88 [0.34] vs. -0.79 [0.37], respectively; p = 0.03). ACT effectiveness remained stable at the 3-month follow-up. We found a similar pattern of change for depressive symptomatology and anxiety, psychological pain, hopelessness, anger, and quality of life. Therapeutic processes improved more in the ACT group than in the relaxation group. Treatment adherence was high in the ACT group, all participants reported satisfaction with the program.

CONCLUSIONS

Through its effectiveness in reducing suicidal ideation and improving the clinical dimensions associated with suicidal risk in patients suffering from a suicidal behavior disorder, ACT could be developed as an adjunctive strategy in programs for suicide prevention.

Taking on the stress-depression link: Meaning as a resource in adolescence

We investigated how meaning in life affects the link between stress and depression symptoms in adolescents. Adolescents (N = 177; 58.4% female, mean age = 14.75 years) reported on their meaning in life, exposure to stressors, and depression symptomatology. Higher meaning in life predicted lower depression symptoms. Importantly, meaning in life moderated the relationship between stress exposure and depressive symptoms: stress exposure was associated with higher depression when meaning in life was low, when meaning in life was high, there was no association between stressors and depression. These findings indicate the importance of having a sense of meaning in life adolescence. A positive relationship was found between stress exposure and depression symptomatology levels at a time-point seven months earlier. This lends a longitudinal perspective; meaning in life moderated a relationship that had been present for seven months. Therapeutic implications for protecting at-risk youth are discussed.

Purpose-in-Life Test: Comparison of the Main Models in Patients with Mental Disorders

The aim of this study was to compare the main proposed models for the Purpose-In-Life Test, a scale for assessing meaning in life, in 229 Spanish patients with mental disorders (195 females and 34 males, aged 13-68, M = 34.43, SD = 12.19). Confirmatory factor-analytic procedures showed that the original model of the Purpose-In-Life Test, a 20-item unidimensional scale, obtained a better fit than the other analyzed models, SBχ2(df) = 326.27(170), SBχ2/df = 1.92, TLI = .93, CFI = .94, IFI = .94, RMSEA = .063 (90% CI [.053, .074]), CAIC = -767.46, as well as a high internal consistency, (α = .90). The main conclusion is that the original version of the Purpose-In-Life shows a robust construct validity in a clinical population. However, authors recommend an in-depth psychometric analysis of the Purpose-In-Life Test among clinical population. Likewise, the importance of assessing meaning in life in order to enhance psychotherapeutic treatment is noted.

Meaning in Life Buffers the Association Between Risk Factors for Suicide and Hopelessness in Participants With Mental Disorders

OBJECTIVE

Hopelessness is a proximal risk factor of suicide. Meaning in life has been found to be a protective factor against suicidal ideation; however, the majority of studies that have explored the role of meaning in life in the context of suicidality have been conducted in nonclinical populations. The aim of this study was to investigate whether meaning in life can moderate and buffer the association between suicide risk factors and hopelessness in a clinical sample with a heightened risk of suicide.

METHOD

A total of 224 participants diagnosed with mental disorders completed self-report measures of suicide risk factors, hopelessness, and meaning in life.

RESULTS

The main result from this study was that meaning in life moderated the association between suicide risk factors and hopelessness.

CONCLUSION

Meaning in life is an important variable in the prevention and treatment of people at risk of suicide.

Meaning in life and non-suicidal self-injury: A follow-up study with participants with Borderline Personality Disorder

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is considered one of the defining features of people diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Longitudinal studies are needed to identify factors predicting future NSSI in BPD participants. Several studies have shown that low meaning in life is associated with mental health problems, addiction problems, depression, hopelessness, and suicide. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether meaning in life predicts the frequency of NSSI behaviors during the one-year follow-up. The sample was composed up of 80 participants with a BPD diagnosis. We assessed the frequency of NSSI behaviors over a 12-month follow-up period. The results suggest that the participants who had low meaning in life had more frequency of NSSI, depression, and hopelessness at baseline, and more frequency of NSSI during the follow-up, than participants with high meaning in life. The predictor variables: Frequency of NSSI at base line, depression, hopelessness, and meaning in life, significantly predicted the frequency of NSSI during the one-year follow-up. Therefore, meaning in life was the only predictor of NSSI during the follow-up period.

CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION OF A MEANING IN LIFE SCALE IN THE TAIWANESE CULTURAL CONTEXT

The objective was to construct and validate a Chinese-language Meaning in Life Scale (MiLS) and to assess its psychometric properties. The three most popular scales have some weaknesses and are grounded in a Western cultural context. Consequently, a comprehensive and psychometrically adequate meaning in life scale is needed for use in Asian samples. 500 randomly selected participants from the Taiwanese public provided 476 valid responses to a written questionnaire. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 63 years (M age = 42.3 yr.; 181 men, 295 women). Exploratory factor analysis reduced the initial 41 items to 33 items, based on a 5-point rating scale. Five factors were extracted: Contented with life (10 items; 33.20% of total variance), Goals in life (5 items; 6.95%), Enthusiasm and commitment (7 items; 6.28%), Understanding (6 items; 5.41%), and Sense or meaning to human existence (5 items; 4.57%). The MiLS showed satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity. Therefore, the MiLS was found to be a valid and reliable instrument to measure the subjective sense of a meaning in life in the Taiwanese cultural context.

Does Meaning in Life Predict Psychological Well-Being?: An Analysis Using the Spanish Versions of the Purpose-In-Life Test and the Ryff’s Scales

This paper analyzes the relationship between meaning in life and psychological well-being in a sample of 180 Spanish undergraduates (138 women, 76.7%; 42 men, 23.3%) aged 18-55, M = 22.91, SD = 6.71. Spanish versions of Crumbaugh and Maholic’s Purpose-In-Life Test and Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales were used. Analysis included descriptive statistics, the scales were tested for internal consistency, and correlations were analysed with simple linear regression. The results showed a significant relationship between meaning in life and psychological well-being dimensions, in terms of covariance and prediction, especially with global Psychological Well-Being, Self-Acceptation, Environmental Mastery, and Positive Relations. We conclude that the experience of meaning in life is important for psychological well-being.

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.

Nurse-patient interaction is a resource for hope, meaning in life and self-transcendence in nursing home patients

BACKGROUND

Spiritual dimensions such as hope, meaning in life and self-transcendence have been found to be predictors of successful ageing, life satisfaction and well-being in older individuals. Connectedness and communicating with others have been seen to facilitate hope, meaning in life and self-transcendence among nursing home patients.

AIMS

This study aimed to investigate the associations between hope, meaning in life, self-transcendence and nurse-patient interaction in a nursing home population.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A cross-sectional design was employed, collecting data in 44 different Norwegian nursing homes (NHs) from 250 patients who met the inclusion criteria. Approval by all regulatory institutions dealing with research issues in Norway and the Management Unit at the 44 NHs was obtained. A sample of 202 cognitively intact nursing home patients responded to the Herth Hope Index, the Purpose in Life test, the Self-Transcendence Scale and the Nurse-Patient Interaction Scale. A structural equation model (SEM) of the hypothesized relationships between the constructs was tested.

RESULTS

The SEM model fit well with the present data. Significant direct relationships of nurse-patient interaction on hope, meaning in life and self-transcendence were displayed. Meaning and the interconnectedness dimension of hope appeared to be particularly dynamic resources, revealing significant influences on all the constructs in the SEM model tested.

CONCLUSION

Nurse-patient interaction influences hope, meaning in life and self-transcendence in cognitively intact nursing home patients and might be an important resource in relation to patients' health and global well-being. Thus, care providers are above all fundamental for nursing home patients. Advancing caregivers' interacting and communicating skills might facilitate patients' health and global well-being and inspire professional caregivers as they perform their daily care practices. More research of the effectiveness of such strategies is greatly needed.

LIMITATIONS

The SEM model tested comprised 20 variables, indicating a desirable sample size of n = 200, while the present effective sample was n = 187. Also, cross-sectional data do not allow making conclusion on the causality.

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.