Counseling psychologists often work with clients to increase their well-being as well as to decrease their distress. One important aspect of well-being, highlighted particularly in humanistic theories of the counseling process, is perceived meaning in life. However, poor measurement has hampered research on meaning in life. In 3 studies, evidence is provided for the internal consistency, temporal stability, factor structure, and validity of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), a new 10-item measure of the presence of, and the search for, meaning in life. A multitrait-multimethod matrix demonstrates the convergent and discriminant validity of the MLQ subscales across time and informants, in comparison with 2 other meaning scales. The MLQ offers several improvements over current meaning in life measures, including no item overlap with distress measures, a stable factor structure, better discriminant validity, a briefer format, and the ability to measure the search for meaning.Keywords: meaning in life, purpose in life, measurement, scale construction, well-beingIn recent years the construct of meaning in life has received renewed attention and legitimacy, perhaps in conjunction with a growing focus on positive traits and psychological strengths (Ryan & Deci, 2001;Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Invariably, meaning in life is regarded as a positive variable-an indicator of well-being (Ryff, 1989), a facilitator of adaptive coping (Park & Folkman, 1997), or a marker of therapeutic growth (Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1964;Frankl, 1965). A recent report in the Journal of Counseling Psychology advocated for the understanding and assessment of well-being variables such as meaning in life in order to promote client growth and recovery (Lent, 2004). Despite substantial progress over the 40-year history of empirical research on meaning and the resurgence presently occurring, existing research seems unable to answer many fundamental questions about the construct. We argue that better measurement will help advance this research by providing a measure of therapeutic outcome and personal growth that counseling psychologists historically have been interested in, particularly those influenced by the humanistic tradition of promoting growth and not simply decreasing symptoms. The purpose of the present research was to develop an improved measure of meaning in life. Overview of Meaning in Life LiteratureThe definition of meaning in life varies throughout the field, ranging from coherence in one's life (Battista & Almond, 1973;Reker & Wong, 1988) to goal directedness or purposefulness (e.g., Ryff & Singer, 1998) to "the ontological significance of life from the point of view of the experiencing individual" (Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1964, p. 201). Others offer semantic definitions (e.g., "What does my life mean?"; Baumeister, 1991;Yalom, 1980). Likewise, there is diversity in perspectives regarding how to achieve meaning in life. Because there is no universal meaning that can fit everyone's life (Frankl, 1965), each person must crea...

The goals of this article are to (a) describe differences between moderator and mediator effects; (b) provide nontechnical descriptions of how to examine each type of effect, including study design, analysis, and interpretation of results; (c) demonstrate how to analyze each type of effect; and (d) provide suggestions for further reading. The authors focus on the use of multiple regression because it is an accessible data-analytic technique contained in major statistical packages. When appropriate, they also note limitations of using regression to detect moderator and mediator effects and describe alternative procedures, particularly structural equation modeling. Finally, to illustrate areas of confusion in counseling psychology research, they review research testing moderation and mediation that was published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology during 2001.

Objective The purpose of this study was to systematically review the reliability of scores on the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) and the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and to examine the validity of their use as measures of eating disorder symptoms. Method Articles describing the psychometric properties of the EDE and EDE-Q were identified in a systematic search of major computer databases and a review of reference lists. Articles were selected based on a priori inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results Fifteen studies were identified that examined the psychometrics of the EDE, whereas 10 studies were found that examined the psychometrics of the EDE-Q. Discussion Both instruments demonstrated reliability of scores. There is evidence that scores on the EDE and EDE-Q correlate with scores on measures of similar constructs and support for using the instruments to distinguish between cases and non-cases. Additional research is needed to broaden the generalizability of the findings.

In this study, we evaluated the validity of self-reported posttraumatic growth (PTG) by assessing the relation between perceived growth and actual growth from pre- to posttrauma. Undergraduate students completed measures tapping typical PTG domains at Time 1 and Time 2 (2 months later). We compared change in those measures with scores on the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996) for those participants who reported a traumatic event between Time 1 and Time 2 (n= 122). PTGI scores generally were unrelated to actual growth in PTG-related domains. Moreover, perceived growth was associated with increased distress from pre- to posttrauma, whereas actual growth was related to decreased distress, a pattern suggesting that perceived and actual growth reflect different processes. Finally, perceived (but not actual) growth was related to positive reinterpretation coping. Thus, the PTGI, and perhaps other retrospective measures, does not appear to measure actual pre- to posttrauma change.