Youth purpose among the ‘greatest generation’

Purpose in Life: A Brief Review of the Literature and Its Implications for School Guidance Programs

“…In general, sense of purpose tends to increase with age across the period of adolescence to young adulthood, with beyond-the-self aspects of life being the last to develop in most individuals (Mariano & Vaillant, 2012;Moran, 2009)…”

Exploring the relationship between purpose and moral psychological indicators

“…Other investigators have proposed that examining the nature of moral versus ignoble purpose should be done (Mariano & Vaillant, 2012). Perhaps, the present study may provide some insights to researchers who are interested in the aforementioned point.…”

“…Given moral values and foundations are inseparable from civic matters (Dawson et al, 2021), the significant association between morality and civic purpose reported in previous research may be attributable the inseparability (Beaumont et al, 2006). More evidence should be acquired to understand the relationship between general purpose, which includes non-civic purpose, and morality more comprehensively (Mariano & Vaillant, 2012). Third, in the previous studies, only two aspects of moral functioning (i.e., empathy and moral identity) were examined.…”

Purpose as a Powerful Resource in the Time of COVID-19

“…Indeed, having a sense of purpose is beneficial for people across the life span and is associated with hope (Burrow et al, 2010) and resilience (Benard, 1991), as well as improved academic (e.g., Damon et al, 2003) and physical health outcomes (e.g., Hill & Turiano, 2014; Ryff, 1989). While people can have self-oriented aims for their future, an other-oriented sense of purpose (i.e., a purpose that contributes to others) is associated with greater psychological health, openness, and contentment (Bronk & Finch, 2010; Mariano & Vaillant, 2012). Purpose can make the mundane tasks of life matter by helping people connect them to a larger contributory life aim (Liang, Lund, et al, 2017).…”