Presence of meaning, search for meaning, religiousness, satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms among a diverse Israeli sample

Abstract

The present study explored the structure and correlates of meaning in life (MIL) among an Israeli sample. The sample consisted of 559 adults. The average age of participants was 48.24 and 61.3% of them were females. Participants provided demographic information and completed measures of MIL, satisfaction with life, and depressive symptoms. The MIL Questionnaire showed a very good fit for the proposed 2‐factor model (i.e. presence of meaning, search for meaning) to the data collected from the current sample. Presence of meaning correlated positively with both search for meaning and satisfaction with life, and negatively with depressive symptoms. Search for meaning was positively and weakly tied to satisfaction with life, but was unrelated to depressive symptoms. Religiousness appeared as a significant moderator between the two meaning factors, and between them and life satisfaction. Specifically, as religiousness became stronger: (a) the link between presence of meaning and search for meaning became weaker; (b) the link between presence of meaning and life satisfaction became stronger and (c) the link between search for meaning and life satisfaction became weaker. The findings suggest that there are differential implications of presence search for meaning on the health and well‐being, and the important role religiousness plays in this regard.

Relationships between Sense of Community, Authenticity, and Meaning in Life in Four Social Communities in France

“…The result related to the relationship between sense of community and presence of meaning was consistent with previous studies [56,57]. Our results also highlighted the relevance of distinguishing presence of and search for meaning in their relationships with other constructs [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. In addition, the positive and moderate to strong correlations of age with presence of and search for meaning were similar to the study conducted by Steger et al [74].…”

“…Numerous studies have highlighted the relevance of differentiating and searching for meaning in their relationships with other variables. For instance, positive links were found with subjective wellbeing [14], career adaptability [15], and passion for leisure [16], while negative links were shown with anxiety [17][18][19], uncertainty tolerance [20], and burnout [21]. In this study, we wanted to extend current literature by comparing the distinctive relationships of sense of community and authenticity with the presence of and search for meaning.…”

Counselling as a calling: Meaning in life and perceived self‐competence in counselling students

“…While previous literature has found links between MIL and PSC (Chan et al., 2019), this study is the first to examine these concepts in the context of students studying counselling. MLQ‐P and MLQ‐S scores were not correlated, which is consistent with other studies finding that the MLQ subscales interact unpredictably (Abu‐Raiya et al., 2020).…”

Meaning in life and resilience among teachers

“…The first conclusion one can draw is that people with a high sense of meaning in life tend to report high resilience protective factors scores, regardless of their search for meaning experience. Combined with evidence from prior studies indicating that people who live meaningful lives tend to be more appreciative of various aspects of their self (Steger et al, 2006), life (Abu-Raiya et al, 2020) andwork (Bonebright et al, 2000), report higher mental health indicators (Park & Baumeister, 2016) and enjoy more rewarding social relationships (Yu & Chang, 2018), the aforementioned finding emphasizes the important role of presence of meaning in strengthening resilient responses (Damásio & Koller, 2015;Nygren et al, 2005;Sumner & Kinsella, 2020). Adding to the relative research, our study shows that people with a high sense of meaning in life not only exhibit higher subjective well-being but also higher levels of resilience protective factors.…”

“…The presence of meaning is strongly related with a number of well-being variables, such as life satisfaction (Abu-Raiya et al, 2020), self-esteem and optimism (Steger et al, 2006), work enjoyment (Bonebright et al, 2000, lower levels of stress (Park & Baumeister, 2016;Steger et al, 2008), as well as stressor-related distress and repetitive negative thinking (Ostafin & Proulx, 2020). Also, people experiencing presence of meaning have positive interpersonal well-being outcomes, such as strong social relationships and social life satisfaction (Yu & Chang, 2018), a strong sense of autonomy, selfdetermination, self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and definite orientation to personal goals and purposes (García-Alandete, 2015).…”