Browsing by Subject "meaning in life"

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    Examining Cross-Cultural Relationships Between Meaning in Life and Psychological Well-Being in Turkey and the United States
    (Springer, 2021-03) Fischer, Ian C.; Secinti, Ekin; Cemalcilar, Zeynep; Rand, Kevin L.; Psychology, School of Science
    This study explored the extent to which meaning in life (i.e., presence and search) relates to different aspects of psychological well-being in American and Turkish students. It also assessed whether presence of meaning moderated the relationship between search for meaning and psychological well-being. American (N =377) and Turkish (N =225) undergraduates completed demographics and self-report measures. Simple and moderated moderation analyses were conducted. In both samples, presence and search were negatively associated. In addition, presence of meaning was positively associated with measures of psychological well-being, while search was negatively associated. Presence of meaning buffered the relationship between search for meaning and psychological well-being, but only in the Turkish sample. American and Turkish undergraduates may typically search for meaning when presence of meaning is low. Presence of meaning appears to be adaptive across these two cultures, whereas search for meaning appears to be culturally-specific and may produce differential effects on psychological well-being.
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    Posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms and symptom clusters in a sample of treatment-seeking US veterans: Longitudinal associations with meaning in life and general self-efficacy
    (Elsevier, 2023-10) Fischer, Ian C.; Davis, Louanne W.; Cyders, Melissa A.; Salyers, Michelle P.; Rand, Kevin L.; Psychology, School of Science
    Objectives To quantify the associations between general self-efficacy, subjective meaning in life, and posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms and symptom clusters in US veterans, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Methods Data from a Veteran Affairs (VA) funded intervention study (n = 191) were examined. Self-report measures of depressive symptoms, general self-efficacy, and meaning in life were collected, along with clinician-rated symptoms of PTSD. Results Meaning in life was consistently inversely associated with posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms and symptom clusters cross-sectionally, whereas general self-efficacy was only inversely associated with some aspects of depressive symptoms. Longitudinal analyses further revealed that meaning in life was inversely associated with the cluster D symptoms of PTSD and the cognitive-affective symptoms of depression. Conclusions Higher meaning in life is associated with less severe symptoms of posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms, particularly those related to mood. Additional research is needed to determine whether interventions designed to increase meaning in life attenuate these symptoms.