Psychometric properties of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) in a sample of Australian adolescents

Abstract

and counselling, university of southern Queensland, toowoomba, australia; b university centre for rural health north coast, school of Public health, university of sydney, lismore, australia; c health Promotion unit, northern new south Wales local health district, lismore, australia; d school of health and human sciences, southern cross university, lismore, australia; e Melbourne school of Psychological sciences, university of Melbourne, Parkville, australia Background Life meaning The concept of life meaning is increasingly the focus of psychological research studies. The importance of having a sense of life meaning and purpose is summed up by Pinquart (2002, p. 90) who stated 'purpose in life is a defining feature of mental health. ' In the literature, the terms meaning and purpose are often used interchangeably. In this paper, we utilize Steger's (2009) definition of life meaning to examine the psychometrics of a life meaning measure with a sample of Australian adolescents. Steger's definition posits that life meaning involves two key components-comprehension and purpose. Comprehension relates to making sense of one's life, while purpose relates to having an overall life mission (Steger, 2009). Life meaning has been the focus of research in both sub-disciplines of existential and positive psychology. From an existential perspective, Frankl (1963) proposed that finding meaning is a primary human drive. With this premise, he created logotherapy to assist people to find meaning in their lives. Hoffman, Vallejos, Cleare-Hoffman, and Rubin (2015) reported that while little empirical research exists for outcomes of existential therapy approaches, components of existential therapy (including relationships, emotions and meaning) are backed by empirical research. From a different perspective, positive psychology is concerned with the good life or what makes life worth living (Ryff & Singer, 1998). Life meaning has emerged in this context as one of many variables ABSTRACT This study examined the psychometric properties of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) using an Australian adolescent sample (n = 135). The MLQ is made up of two, five-item subscales-Presence (how meaningful one considers his/her life to be) and Search (a desire to discover more or new meaning in one's life). A convenience sample of 135 high school students aged 12-18 years (M = 15.18 years, SD = 1.42) completed the questionnaire. Scale analysis results indicated the measure had satisfactory internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis results showed support for the proposed two-factor model. The MLQ appears to be a valid instrument for measuring life meaning in Australian adolescents. The key implications are discussed.

The Psychometric Properties of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) in Patients with Life-Threatening Illnesses

“…As for the question of whether or not the MLQ has construct validity, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to explore its factor structure and construct validity. CFA supported the two-factor model, including the Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning subscales, consistent with the results of several previous studies [1,[29][30][31][32][33][34]40]. e results also showed that item 9 ("My life has no clear purpose"), which is the only reversed item in the MLQ-P, had a significantly lower factor loading (P < 0.05) onto the other items on this subscale (MLQ-P � 0.18, MLQ-S � 0.44) and seems to be a problematic item.…”

“…Second, the meaning-making process is, by nature, an ongoing and unstable process [40,49] that is strongly context dependent [46] and does not stop even after the achievement of meaning because just then, the patients further uncover the crucial role of this process in adjusting to e Scientific World Journal illness and may thus continue to express their desire for its search [46]. ird, even if the patients achieve a satisfactory and desirable meaning in their life and lead a meaningful life, they may still be looking for a deeper and greater meaning [40,50,51] because the human tendency toward searching for deeper and greater meaning is undeniable and people are motivated to not only find a meaning but to also constantly search for new ones [32].…”

Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Factor Structure and Gender Invariance in a Romanian Undergraduates Sample

“…Although there are differences in the conceptualization of the terms "meaning" and "purpose", research has shown that they are used equivalently (Diener et al, 2010;Rose, Zask& Burton, 2017). A brief review of the relation "meaning in life-purpose" sheds light on the relation between the two terms.…”

Makna hidup pada mahasiswa rantau: analisis faktor eksploratori skala makna hidup

“…Instrumen ini berisi 36 item yang mengukur makna hidup yang terbagi dalam 6 aspek yaitu changing attitude, self insight, social support, the meaning of life, self commitment, dan directed activities. Pengukuran makna hidup telah di munculkan oleh beberapa skala seperti The Purpose in Life Test (PIL test), Kuesioner Frankl, The Allport Vernon Lindzey Scale of Value (A-V-L) (Koeswara, 2007), Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) (Rose, Zask, & Burton, 2016). Namun, kuesioner dan juga alat tes ini mengambil rujukan teori barat yaitu teori Frankl.…”