Psychometric properties of the Spanish form of the schedule for meaning in life evaluation (SMiLE)

Abstract

The results support the validity of the Spanish version of the SMiLE as an instrument for assessing meaning in life.

What Gives Meaning in Life to Patients With Advanced Cancer? A Comparison Between Spanish, German, and Swiss Patients

“…The MiL indices derived from application of the SMiLE (Table 2) to Spanish PC patients are generally high and similar to those obtained in other studies of both healthy individuals 6,20,23 and PC patients. 6,7,21 In terms of the areas that contribute to MiL (Table 3), family was by far the most frequently listed area (89.1% of patients).…”

“…This was followed at a considerable distance by the areas partner (41.6%), well-being (40.6%), and friends (30.7%). Comparing these results with those obtained in a sample of healthy Spanish university students, 23 we found that the university students also listed family as the first area of meaning (99.5%). However, in the case of the students, the second most listed area was friends (80.7%), the third work (76%), and the fourth well-being (59.6%).…”

“…All participants underwent a clinical interview with the same clinician and were administered a questionnaire that contained, among other instruments, the Spanish version of the SMiLE. 23 The SMiLE comprises three questions. The first asks respondents to list between three and seven areas that give meaning to their life.…”

What Lies behind the Wish to Hasten Death? A Systematic Review and Meta-Ethnography from the Perspective of Patients

“…The meaning of life, another element of the theme ‘loss of self’, has recently attracted considerable interest among clinicians and researchers in the field of palliative care, and has become a key element of certain psychotherapeutic interventions [33], [39], [77]. Those patients who, despite their illness, continue to feel that life is meaningful are able to regard their life as worth living [78].…”

“…Factors addressed by research include pain [28], [29], depression [20], [30], [31], hopelessness [32], [33], [34], the feeling of being a burden [12], [34], [35] and loss of autonomy [28], [36], [37]. Various socio-cultural aspects may also play an important role in relation to the origin of such a wish, for example, family and social support or factors related to what gives meaning to life [38], [39], [40]. In general, clinical studies highlight a multi-factor aetiology, and the evolving literature on the WTHD points — perhaps in line with improvements in the treatment of physical pain — toward the considerable influence of other factors related with the spiritual and psychological dimensions of the individual [13], [14], [41], [42].…”