Differential associations among alcohol use, depression and perceived life meaning in male and female college students

Meaning, Resilience, and Traumatic Stress After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: A Study of Mississippi Coastal Residents Seeking Mental Health Services

“…See Table for mean scores of this sample. Studies using the PIL‐SF in samples of college students found mean scores of 22.67 ( SD = 3.73; Schulenberg et al., ) and 22.66 ( SD = 2.64; Schnetzer et al., ). The internal consistency reliability was α = 88 .…”

“…Studies have shown that meaning is positively related to psychological health, life satisfaction, general self-efficacy, hope, and happiness (Bronk, Hill, Lapsley, Talib, & Finch, 2009;Byron & Miller-Perrin, 2009;Dogra, Basu, & Das, 2011;Drescher et al, 2012;Melton & Schulenberg, 2008;Wnuk, Marcinkowski, & Fobair, 2012). Perceived meaning in life is also negatively correlated with alcohol use, depression, general psychological distress, and suicidal ideation (Dogra et al, 2011;Schnetzer, Schulenberg, & Buchanan, 2013;Schulenberg, Schnetzer, & Buchanan, 2011). After the Gulf oil spill, perceived meaning in life was a stronger predictor of life satisfaction than both self-efficacy and the perceived effect of the spill (Drescher et al, 2012).…”

Associations Between Spirituality, Meaning in Life, and Depressive Disorders Among a Sample of Individuals in Treatment for Substance-Use Disorders

“…Another longitudinal study conducted by Piderman et al (2008), utilizing a sample of 74 individuals who attended outpatient services for alcohol dependence, indicated spiritual practices and high levels of purpose and meaning were the strongest predictors of 1-year posttreatment abstinence. Other research with college students has also found a significant inverse relationship between level of perceived life meaning and alcohol use (Schnetzer et al, 2013). Similar results concerning the protective quality of spirituality and purpose and meaning have been reported by other investigations among individuals struggling with substance-use issues (Robinson, Cranford, Webb, & Brower, 2007;Robinson et al, 2011).…”

“…There are only a few studies examining the impact of spirituality and meaning in life on depressive symptoms (Mascaro & Rosen, 2008;Schnetzer et al, 2013;Stolovy et al, 2009;Westerhof et al, 2010), all of which reported a negative relationship between these factors and depressive symptomatology. For example, Mascaro and Rosen (2008) found among a sample of 395 undergraduate students that there was a small but significant inverse relationship between the baseline reported level of existential meaning and depressive symptoms 2 months later.…”

“…Numerous studies have documented that spirituality appears to be a protective factor against both substance-use disorders and depressive symptoms (Mascaro & Rosen, 2008;Piderman, Schneekloth, Pankratz, Stevens, & Altchuler, 2008;Robinson, Cranford, Webb, & Brower, 2007;Robinson, Krentzman, Webb, & Brower, 2011;Schnetzer, Schulenberg, & Buchanan, 2013;Sterling et al, 2007;Stolovy, Lev-Wiesel, Doron, & Gelkopf, 2009;Westerhof, Bohlmeijer, van Beljouvw, & Pot, 2010). According to several researchers (e.g., Canda & Furman, 2010;Cook, 2004;Oman, 2014;Seidlitz et al, 2002), spirituality contains elements of both existential purpose and meaning (i.e., ultimate meaning of life) and connectedness to the divine or the transcendent.…”