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This scoping review identified and synthesized the theoretical statements on life projects contained in articles indexed in databases of psychology and related fields. Six online databases were searched for articles using the term life project in their titles, abstracts, or keywords. Only articles that contained theoretical statements on life projects were included, yielding 93 manuscripts. A total of 15 theoretical approaches from diverse fields were identified. A thematic analysis with the articles' theoretical statements resulted in six themes describing different properties and correlates of life projects. Another thematic analysis, based on the articles' explicit life project definitions, resulted in four defining features. The findings reveal that the theoretical approaches and life project definitions conflict with each other. However, the theoretical dimensions and defining features enabled the identification of commonalities across the theories. Future studies need to integrate these distinct theoretical dimensions and defining features to form a comprehensive theory of the life project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces distinct types of validity and reliability evidence of the Authenticity Scale (AS) in a sample from Brazil and Portugal. It consists of an online survey with 1,077 Brazilian citizens and 622 Portuguese citizens. The study tested the model with three correlated factors (self-alienation, authentic living, and accepting external influence), the unidimensional model, and the bi-factor model. The model with three correlated factors was retained, with the three subscales demonstrating moderate to good reliability. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis suggested scalar invariance across culture, gender, age, education, occupation, and Covid-related concern and impact. The items were assessed by graded response model (GRM), which suggested that the three subscales are not able to distinguish respondents with high authenticity traits. GRM and descriptive statistics indicated that the rating-scale is inappropriate, particularly for authentic living subscale, which is affected by ceiling effect. Associations with presence of meaning showed additional validity evidence. Despite the limitations, the AS is an effective measure to assess authenticity across different groups. Potential modifications for the improvement of the AS are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]