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Examination of Meaning in Life and Related Factors

Year 2022, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 81 - 88, 09.06.2022

Abstract

Meaning in life is a determinant of mental well-being, psychological resilience, and healthy development, as well as healthy aging and quality of life. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the concept of meaning in life and related factors in line with the literature. The review methodology was used in the study. A search was performed on databases between June 2020-June 2021. Meaning in life-related factors were reviewed in two groups as mental and physical health indicators. A positive relationship was found between the increase in meaning in life level and psychological well-being and life satisfaction, and a negative relationship with stress, anxiety, depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, and fear of death. Besides, there was a negative relationship between meaning in life and symptoms, such as fatigue, pain, constipation, respiratory distress, which are indicators of physical health, and cardiovascular diseases. It was determined that the literature on the subject included descriptive and review studies. This study indicated that meaning in life affected the lives of individuals physically and mentally, but the literature is limited in terms of the number and design of studies. This review also underlines the limitations of the nursing literature related to the subject. At this point, it can be said that it is a necessity for nurses, who are in a key position, to empower individuals. For this reason, it can be said that health professionals must empower these individuals.

References

  • 1. Battista J, Almond R. The development of meaning in life. Psychiatry. 1973;36(4):409-27.
  • 2. Debats DL, Drost J, Hansen P. Experiences of meaning in life: A combined qualitative and quantitative approach. British Journal of Psychology. 1995;86(3):359-75.
  • 3. Steger MF, Frazier P, Oishi S, Kaler M. The meaning in life questionnaire: assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of counseling psychology. 2006;53(1):80.
  • 4. Haugan G. Meaning‐in‐life in nursing‐home patients: A correlate with physical and emotional symptoms. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2014;23(7-8):1030-43.
  • 5. Steger MF, Mann JR, Michels P, Cooper TC. Meaning in life, anxiety, depression, and general health among smoking cessation patients. Journal of psychosomatic research. 2009;67(4):353-8.
  • 6. Ryff CD. Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of personality and social psychology. 1989;57(6):1069.
  • 7. Steger MF, Kashdan TB, Sullivan BA, Lorentz D. Understanding the search for meaning in life: Personality, cognitive style, and the dynamic between seeking and experiencing meaning. Journal of personality. 2008;76(2):199-228.
  • 8. Fave AD, Brdar I, Wissing MP, Vella-Brodrick DA. Sources and motives for personal meaning in adulthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2013;8(6):517-29.
  • 9. Steger MF, Oishi S, Kashdan TB. Meaning in life across the life span: Levels and correlates of meaning in life from emerging adulthood to older adulthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2009;4(1):43-52.
  • 10. Thompson NJ, Coker J, Krause JS, Henry E. Purpose in life as a mediator of adjustment after spinal cord injury. Rehabilitation Psychology. 2003;48(2):100.
  • 11. Pearson PR, Sheffield BF. Psychoticism and purpose in life. Personality and Individual Differences. 1989;10(12):1321-2.
  • 12. Debats DL. Sources of meaning: An investigation of significant commitments in life. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 1999;39(4):30-57.
  • 13. Glaw X, Kable A, Hazelton M, Inder K. Meaning in life and meaning of life in mental health care: An integrative literature review. Issues in mental health nursing. 2017;38(3):243-52.
  • 14. Viktor EF. İnsanın Anlam Arayışı. 2. Baskı. Türkiye: Ankara; 2020.
  • 15. O'Connor K, Chamberlain K. Dimensions of life meaning: A qualitative investigation at mid‐life. British Journal of Psychology. 1996;87(3):461-77.
  • 16. Park CL. Making sense of the meaning literature: an integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological bulletin. 2010;136(2):257.
  • 17. Zika S, Chamberlain K. On the relation between meaning in life and psychological well‐being. British journal of psychology. 1992;83(1):133-45.
  • 18. Steger MF. Experiencing meaning in life: Optimal functioning at the nexus of well-being, psychopathology, and spirituality. The human quest for meaning. 2 th ed. ed: Routledge; 2013.
  • 19. Auhagen AE. On the psychology of meaning of life. Swiss Journal of Psychology/Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Psychologie/Revue Suisse de Psychologie. 2000;59(1):34.
  • 20. García-Alandete J, Marco Salvador JH, Pérez Rodríguez S. Predicting role of the meaning in life on depression, hopelessness, and suicide risk among borderline personality disorder patients. Universitas Psychologica. 2014;13(4):1545-55.
  • 21. Yüksel R. Genç yetişkinlerde yaşamın anlamı. Sakarya University Journal of Education. 2012;2(2):69-83.
  • 22. Ryff CD, Singer B. The contours of positive human health. Psychological Inquiry. 1998;9(1):1-28.
  • 23. Demirbaş N. Yaşamda anlam ve yılmazlık Hacettepe Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, [Yüksek Lisans Tezi] Ankara:Hacettepe; 2009. 2010.
  • 24. Steger MF, American Psychological Association.. Wrestling with our better selves: The search for meaning in life; 2013.
  • 25. Leontiev DA. Three facets of meaning. Journal of Russian & East European Psychology. 2005;43(6):45-72.
  • 26. Shiah Y-J, Chang F, Chiang S-K, Lin I-M, Tam W-CC. Religion and health: Anxiety, religiosity, meaning of life and mental health. Journal of religion and health. 2015;54(1):35-45.
  • 27. Diana Isaia MS F. Spiritual well-being among older adults. Journal of Gerontological Nursing. 1999;25(8):15.
  • 28. Skrabski Á, Kopp M, Rózsa S, Réthelyi J, Rahe RH. Life meaning: an important correlate of health in the Hungarian population. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 2005;12(2):78-85.
  • 29. Ranheim A, Dahlberg K. Expanded awareness as a way to meet the challenges in care that is economically driven and focused on illness--a nordic perspective. Aporia. 2012;4(4):20-24. doi: 10.18192/aporia.v4i4.2906
  • 30. Hupkens S, Machielse A, Goumans M, Derkx P. Meaning in life of older persons: An integrative literature review. Nursing Ethics. 2018;25(8):973-91.
  • 31. Travelbee J. What’s wrong with sympathy? The American journal of nursing. 1964;64:68–71.
  • 32. Krause N. Meaning in life and mortality. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. 2009;64(4):517-27.
  • 33. Steger MF, Fitch-Martin AR, Donnelly J, Rickard KM. Meaning in life and health: Proactive health orientation links meaning in life to health variables among American undergraduates. Journal of Happiness Studies. 2015;16(3):583-97.
  • 34. Vos J. Cardiovascular disease and meaning in life: A systematic literature review and conceptual model. Palliative & Supportive Care. 2021:1-10.
  • 35. Nicholson T, Higgins W, Turner P, James S, Stickle F, Pruitt T. The relation between meaning in life and the occurrence of drug abuse: A retrospective study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. 1994;8(1):24.
  • 36. Routledge C, Juhl J. When death thoughts lead to death fears: Mortality salience increases death anxiety for individuals who lack meaning in life. Cognition and Emotion. 2010;24(5):848-54.
  • 37. Brassai L, Piko BF, Steger MF. Meaning in life: Is it a protective factor for adolescents’ psychological health? International journal of behavioral medicine. 2011;18(1):44-51.
  • 38. Dezutter J, Casalin S, Wachholtz A, Luyckx K, Hekking J, Vandewiele W. Meaning in life: An important factor for the psychological well-being of chronically ill patients? Rehabilitation psychology. 2013;58(4):334.
  • 39. Hedayati MM, Khazaei MM. An investigation of the relationship between depression, meaning in life and adult hope. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2014;114:598-601.
  • 40. García-Alandete J. Does meaning in life predict psychological well-being? The European Journel of Counselling Psychology. 2015.
  • 41. Park J, Baumeister RF. Meaning in life and adjustment to daily stressors. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2017;12(4):333-41.
  • 42. Marco JH, Guillén V, Botella C. The buffer role of meaning in life in hopelessness in women with borderline personality disorders. Psychiatry Research. 2017;247:120-4.
  • 43. Tas I, İskender M. An Examination of Meaning in Life, Satisfaction with Life, Self-Concept and Locus of Control among Teachers. Journal of education and training studies. 2018;6(1):21-31.
  • 44. Güngör A, Uçman AG. Depression and hopelessness in Turkish healthcare workers: The moderating and mediating roles of meaning in life. Global public health. 2020;15(2):236-46.
  • 45. Lew B, Chistopolskaya K, Osman A, Huen JMY, Talib MA, Leung ANM. Meaning in life as a protective factor against suicidal tendencies in Chinese University students. BMC psychiatry. 2020;20(1):1-9.
  • 46. Boudreau R Relevance and value of meaning in life. J Clin Res Bioeth 2018;9(2):1. doi: 10.4172/2155-9627.1000e119

Yaşamda Anlam Bulma ve İlişkili Faktörlerin İncelenmesi

Year 2022, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 81 - 88, 09.06.2022

Abstract

Yaşamda anlam bulma ruhsal iyi oluşun, psikolojik gücün, sağlıklı gelişimin yanı sıra sağlıklı yaşlanmanın ve yaşam kalitesinin belirleyicisidir. Bu doğrultuda çalışmanın amacı yaşamda anlam bulma kavramını ve ilişkili faktörleri literatür bilgisi doğrultusunda irdelemektir. Derleme desende tasarlanmış bu araştırmada “hemşirelik, ruh sağlığı, yaşamda anlam bulma-nursing, mental health, meaning in life” anahtar kelimeleri ile “EbscoHost, Proquest, Science Direct, Wiley, Ulakbim” veri tabanları taranmıştır. Yaşamda anlam bulma ilişkili faktörler fiziksel ve ruhsal sağlık göstergeleri olarak iki grupta derlenmiştir. Yaşamda anlam bulma düzeyindeki artış ile ruhsal sağlık göstergesi olan psikolojik iyi oluş ve yaşam doyumu arasında pozitif yönde bir ilişki, stres anksiyete depresyon, umutsuzluk, intihar düşüncesi, madde bağımlılığı ve ölüm korkusu arasında ise negatif yönde bir ilişki olduğu görülmüştür. Ayrıca yaşamda anlam ile fiziksel sağlık göstergesi olan yorgunluk, ağrı, kabızlık, solunum güçlüğü gibi belirtiler ve kardiyovasküler hastalıklar arasında negatif yönlü bir ilişki olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bununla birlikte konu ile ilgili literatürün tanımlayıcı ve derleme çalışmaları kapsadığı belirlenmiştir. Bu derleme makale yaşamda anlam bulmanın bireylerin yaşamını fiziksel ve ruhsal açıdan etkilediğini ancak literatürün araştırma sayısı ve deseni konusunda sınırlı olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Bu derleme konu ile ilişkili hemşirelik literatürü kısıtlılığının da altını çizmektedir. Bu noktada kilit konumda bulunan hemşirelerin bireyleri güçlendirmesinin bir gereklilik olduğu söylenebilir. Ayrıca araştırma sayısının ve farklı araştırma desenlerinin kullanıldığı çalışmaların planlanmasının önerilebilir.

References

  • 1. Battista J, Almond R. The development of meaning in life. Psychiatry. 1973;36(4):409-27.
  • 2. Debats DL, Drost J, Hansen P. Experiences of meaning in life: A combined qualitative and quantitative approach. British Journal of Psychology. 1995;86(3):359-75.
  • 3. Steger MF, Frazier P, Oishi S, Kaler M. The meaning in life questionnaire: assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of counseling psychology. 2006;53(1):80.
  • 4. Haugan G. Meaning‐in‐life in nursing‐home patients: A correlate with physical and emotional symptoms. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2014;23(7-8):1030-43.
  • 5. Steger MF, Mann JR, Michels P, Cooper TC. Meaning in life, anxiety, depression, and general health among smoking cessation patients. Journal of psychosomatic research. 2009;67(4):353-8.
  • 6. Ryff CD. Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of personality and social psychology. 1989;57(6):1069.
  • 7. Steger MF, Kashdan TB, Sullivan BA, Lorentz D. Understanding the search for meaning in life: Personality, cognitive style, and the dynamic between seeking and experiencing meaning. Journal of personality. 2008;76(2):199-228.
  • 8. Fave AD, Brdar I, Wissing MP, Vella-Brodrick DA. Sources and motives for personal meaning in adulthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2013;8(6):517-29.
  • 9. Steger MF, Oishi S, Kashdan TB. Meaning in life across the life span: Levels and correlates of meaning in life from emerging adulthood to older adulthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2009;4(1):43-52.
  • 10. Thompson NJ, Coker J, Krause JS, Henry E. Purpose in life as a mediator of adjustment after spinal cord injury. Rehabilitation Psychology. 2003;48(2):100.
  • 11. Pearson PR, Sheffield BF. Psychoticism and purpose in life. Personality and Individual Differences. 1989;10(12):1321-2.
  • 12. Debats DL. Sources of meaning: An investigation of significant commitments in life. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 1999;39(4):30-57.
  • 13. Glaw X, Kable A, Hazelton M, Inder K. Meaning in life and meaning of life in mental health care: An integrative literature review. Issues in mental health nursing. 2017;38(3):243-52.
  • 14. Viktor EF. İnsanın Anlam Arayışı. 2. Baskı. Türkiye: Ankara; 2020.
  • 15. O'Connor K, Chamberlain K. Dimensions of life meaning: A qualitative investigation at mid‐life. British Journal of Psychology. 1996;87(3):461-77.
  • 16. Park CL. Making sense of the meaning literature: an integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological bulletin. 2010;136(2):257.
  • 17. Zika S, Chamberlain K. On the relation between meaning in life and psychological well‐being. British journal of psychology. 1992;83(1):133-45.
  • 18. Steger MF. Experiencing meaning in life: Optimal functioning at the nexus of well-being, psychopathology, and spirituality. The human quest for meaning. 2 th ed. ed: Routledge; 2013.
  • 19. Auhagen AE. On the psychology of meaning of life. Swiss Journal of Psychology/Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Psychologie/Revue Suisse de Psychologie. 2000;59(1):34.
  • 20. García-Alandete J, Marco Salvador JH, Pérez Rodríguez S. Predicting role of the meaning in life on depression, hopelessness, and suicide risk among borderline personality disorder patients. Universitas Psychologica. 2014;13(4):1545-55.
  • 21. Yüksel R. Genç yetişkinlerde yaşamın anlamı. Sakarya University Journal of Education. 2012;2(2):69-83.
  • 22. Ryff CD, Singer B. The contours of positive human health. Psychological Inquiry. 1998;9(1):1-28.
  • 23. Demirbaş N. Yaşamda anlam ve yılmazlık Hacettepe Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, [Yüksek Lisans Tezi] Ankara:Hacettepe; 2009. 2010.
  • 24. Steger MF, American Psychological Association.. Wrestling with our better selves: The search for meaning in life; 2013.
  • 25. Leontiev DA. Three facets of meaning. Journal of Russian & East European Psychology. 2005;43(6):45-72.
  • 26. Shiah Y-J, Chang F, Chiang S-K, Lin I-M, Tam W-CC. Religion and health: Anxiety, religiosity, meaning of life and mental health. Journal of religion and health. 2015;54(1):35-45.
  • 27. Diana Isaia MS F. Spiritual well-being among older adults. Journal of Gerontological Nursing. 1999;25(8):15.
  • 28. Skrabski Á, Kopp M, Rózsa S, Réthelyi J, Rahe RH. Life meaning: an important correlate of health in the Hungarian population. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 2005;12(2):78-85.
  • 29. Ranheim A, Dahlberg K. Expanded awareness as a way to meet the challenges in care that is economically driven and focused on illness--a nordic perspective. Aporia. 2012;4(4):20-24. doi: 10.18192/aporia.v4i4.2906
  • 30. Hupkens S, Machielse A, Goumans M, Derkx P. Meaning in life of older persons: An integrative literature review. Nursing Ethics. 2018;25(8):973-91.
  • 31. Travelbee J. What’s wrong with sympathy? The American journal of nursing. 1964;64:68–71.
  • 32. Krause N. Meaning in life and mortality. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. 2009;64(4):517-27.
  • 33. Steger MF, Fitch-Martin AR, Donnelly J, Rickard KM. Meaning in life and health: Proactive health orientation links meaning in life to health variables among American undergraduates. Journal of Happiness Studies. 2015;16(3):583-97.
  • 34. Vos J. Cardiovascular disease and meaning in life: A systematic literature review and conceptual model. Palliative & Supportive Care. 2021:1-10.
  • 35. Nicholson T, Higgins W, Turner P, James S, Stickle F, Pruitt T. The relation between meaning in life and the occurrence of drug abuse: A retrospective study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. 1994;8(1):24.
  • 36. Routledge C, Juhl J. When death thoughts lead to death fears: Mortality salience increases death anxiety for individuals who lack meaning in life. Cognition and Emotion. 2010;24(5):848-54.
  • 37. Brassai L, Piko BF, Steger MF. Meaning in life: Is it a protective factor for adolescents’ psychological health? International journal of behavioral medicine. 2011;18(1):44-51.
  • 38. Dezutter J, Casalin S, Wachholtz A, Luyckx K, Hekking J, Vandewiele W. Meaning in life: An important factor for the psychological well-being of chronically ill patients? Rehabilitation psychology. 2013;58(4):334.
  • 39. Hedayati MM, Khazaei MM. An investigation of the relationship between depression, meaning in life and adult hope. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2014;114:598-601.
  • 40. García-Alandete J. Does meaning in life predict psychological well-being? The European Journel of Counselling Psychology. 2015.
  • 41. Park J, Baumeister RF. Meaning in life and adjustment to daily stressors. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2017;12(4):333-41.
  • 42. Marco JH, Guillén V, Botella C. The buffer role of meaning in life in hopelessness in women with borderline personality disorders. Psychiatry Research. 2017;247:120-4.
  • 43. Tas I, İskender M. An Examination of Meaning in Life, Satisfaction with Life, Self-Concept and Locus of Control among Teachers. Journal of education and training studies. 2018;6(1):21-31.
  • 44. Güngör A, Uçman AG. Depression and hopelessness in Turkish healthcare workers: The moderating and mediating roles of meaning in life. Global public health. 2020;15(2):236-46.
  • 45. Lew B, Chistopolskaya K, Osman A, Huen JMY, Talib MA, Leung ANM. Meaning in life as a protective factor against suicidal tendencies in Chinese University students. BMC psychiatry. 2020;20(1):1-9.
  • 46. Boudreau R Relevance and value of meaning in life. J Clin Res Bioeth 2018;9(2):1. doi: 10.4172/2155-9627.1000e119
There are 46 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Subjects Nursing
Journal Section Review
Authors

Medine Yıldırım 0000-0002-6383-5430

Esra Uslu 0000-0003-0168-2747

Publication Date June 9, 2022
Published in Issue Year 2022 Volume: 3 Issue: 1

Cite

Vancouver Yıldırım M, Uslu E. Yaşamda Anlam Bulma ve İlişkili Faktörlerin İncelenmesi. JTNA. 2022;3(1):81-8.