Search

Derailment, a newly mapped construct describing difficulty reconciling perceived changes in identity and self-direction, offers researchers a unique lens for understanding adjustment. As identity development is a lifelong process, establishing the impartiality of the primary measure for derailment across a broad age range is necessary. Across a cross-sectional sample of emerging, young, and midlife adults (N = 1,420), we tested preregistered hypotheses concerning whether the Derailment Scale-6 (DS-6) demonstrates measurement invariance, and the extent to which levels and correlates of derailment differ with age. The DS-6 exhibited configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance across the three age groups. In terms of effect size, statistical differences detected at the scalar level were hardly larger than negligible noninvariance effects, suggesting in sum that the DS-6 is adequate for assessing and comparing derailment among those roughly 18-70 years. In general, derailment was related to greater distress and identity exploration, and lower identity commitment, sense of purpose in life, and future time perspective (FTP). We further found that derailment shares a modest negative association with age; it is more positively associated with identity exploration among younger individuals; and it is more negatively associated with identity commitment, sense of purpose in life, and FTP among older individuals. With the broadest age range and most highly powered set of tests studying derailment to date, this investigation bolsters confidence in our tools for assessing derailment and has taken the initial steps toward sketching the form and function of perceived identity change over the lifespan. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The current study examines explicit and implicit self-esteem as moderators of the daily association between negative events and implicit partner regard among cohabitating African American couples ( N = 360). In a 21-day diary study, individuals with low (vs. high) implicit self-esteem showed a negative association between negative non-relationship and non-interpersonal events and implicit partner regard that day. Age was also a significant moderator such that, only among older participants, low implicit self-esteem individuals reported lower implicit partner regard on days with higher levels of negative relationship, non-relationship, and non-interpersonal events. Findings highlight the importance of implicit partner regard in the risk regulation system and underscore the importance of high implicit self-esteem as a protective factor for relationship functioning among African American couples.

In this preregistered analysis of existing data, we explored whether the association between urgency—a mood-based impulsivity—and risky and self-destructive behavior engagement is moderated by a sense of purpose in life. Results indicated positive associations between positive and negative urgency and recent risk behavior, and negative associations between a sense of purpose and recent risk behavior. For over 90% of the sample, purpose evidenced significant interaction effects with both negative and positive urgency, predicting fewer past-month risk behaviors (both the total number reported and the diversity of behaviors therein). Analyses by subdomain revealed that these interaction effects were most apparent in models predicting recent self-harm and heavy alcohol use. Explanations for this pattern of results and future directions are discussed.

While rich with opportunities for self-exploration, the transition to and through college is stressful, often associated with the onset or exacerbation of mental illness. Attending to these characteristics, this preregistered study asked whether derailment-or difficulties reconciling perceived identity change-in freshman year predicts senior depressive symptoms, and how individual risks for depression relate to this association. Derailment and depressive symptoms evidenced significant 3-year stability, and these constructs had positive cross-sectional associations in both freshman and senior year. Freshman derailment failed to predict senior depressive symptoms for the average student, but individual differences in self-reflection moderated the association: freshman derailment positively predicted senior depression among those lowest in self-reflection. Together, this study suggests derailment and depressive symptoms are consistently related at critical points of transition, and some individual differences in cognition may help predict their long-term association. While useful for understanding nuances between derailment and depression, these findings also inform ways of attending to and supporting college students through periods of transition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The objective of this study was to examine whether experiences of discrimination have increased during the pandemic, particularly among negatively stigmatized racial/ethnic groups, and whether such experiences have exacerbated feelings of social isolation.Discrimination and social isolation were assessed before and during the pandemic in a sample of 263 Black and White young adults attending a large, predominantly White 4-year research university in the Southeastern region of the United States (52% Black, 48% White, 53% female, mean age = 19.2).Increases in discrimination were evident among Black but not White participants. Black participants also reported greater increases in social isolation than White participants, and changes in discrimination partially mediated the emergent racial disparity in social isolation.Findings are consistent with theoretical perspectives on discrimination during times of stress and suggest the need for broader attention to the impact of the pandemic on unfair treatment of stigmatized groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

A minimal amount of information is known about how adolescents and emerging adults construe purpose and meaning in life, leaving many researchers to assume youth think about these construct...

Background Everyday discrimination holds pernicious effects across most aspects of health, including a pronounced stress response. However, work is needed on when discrimination predicts sleep outcomes, with respect to potential moderators of these associations. Purpose The current study sought to advance the past literature by examining the associations between everyday discrimination and sleep outcomes in an ethnically diverse sample, allowing tests of moderation by ethnic group. We also examined the role of sense of purpose, a potential resilience factor, as another moderator. Methods Participants in the Hawaii Longitudinal Study of Personality and Health (n = 758; 52.8% female; mage: 60 years, sd = 2.03) completed assessments for everyday discrimination, sleep duration, daytime dysfunction due to sleep, sleep quality, and sense of purpose. Results In the full sample, everyday discrimination was negatively associated with sleep duration, sleep quality, and sense of purpose, while positively associated with daytime dysfunction due to sleep. The associations were similar in magnitude across ethnic groups (Native Hawaiian, White/Caucasian, Japanese/Japanese-American), and were not moderated by sense of purpose, a potential resilience factor. Conclusions The ill-effects on health due to everyday discrimination may operate in part on its role in disrupting sleep, an issue that appears to similarly impact several groups. The current research extends these findings to underrepresented groups in the discrimination and sleep literature. Future research is needed to better disentangle the day-to-day associations between sleep and discrimination, and identify which sources of discrimination may be most problematic.

High positive affect and low negative affect have been repeatedly tied to better individual and interpersonal well-being. However, research has focused on mean levels whereas the day-to-day unfolding of affect and its impact on romantic relationships remain largely understudied. Here, we examined the links between mean levels and variability in affect and changes in perceptions of partner regard —the extent to which people believe that their partners value and accept them. One hundred twenty-five African American couples ( N = 250 individuals) reported how positively they thought their partners viewed them across two sessions (T1 and T2), separated by a 3-week daily diary study in which participants reported on their positive and negative affect each day for 21 consecutive days. Using dyadic analysis, we found that higher actor negative affect variability was associated with lower perceived regard at T2 controlling for perceived regard at T1. This finding held when controlling for mean levels of actor and partner negative affect. By contrast, PA variability was curvilinearly associated with perceived regard, with moderate levels of variability associated with higher subsequent perceived regard. These results highlight the importance of accounting for mean levels and curvilinear effects when examining links between affect dynamics and relational well-being.

A prevailing belief is that a sense of purpose in life is worth having, based on evidence that it predicts greater psychological functioning, social relationships, physical health, and longevity. Yet, whether the benefits of having a sense of purpose persist across all contents – or the actual substance of one’s aspirations – lingers as a critical blind spot within this literature. Here, we contend that an ecological systems perspective is needed to contextualize how purpose content either enables or extinguishes the benefits of feeling purposeful. We nominate congruence (the fit between a purpose and ecological conditions) and feasibility (the ease with which a purpose can be pursued) as measurable features of purpose content that fuse people and contexts and potentiate whether a sense of purpose proves favorable. Greater congruence and feasibility should orchestrate support for purpose-related goals, actions, and justifications, thus amplifying the likelihood of positive outcomes. Practical strategies for integrating the congruence and feasibility of individuals’ aspirations within the study of purpose are discussed.

Objectives Studies of discrimination and sleep have largely focused on between-person differences in discrimination as a correlate of sleep outcomes. A common criticism of this research is that standard questionnaire measures of discrimination may be confounded by personality and identity and are subject to recall bias. Partially addressing these limitations, the current study examined within-person, day-to-day fluctuations in perceived discrimination as a predictor of day-to-day fluctuations in sleep. The role of internalized racism as a moderator of the within-person association between discrimination and sleep was also considered. Method Participants were African American college students attending a predominantly White institution (N = 124, 26% male, Mage = 20.1, SD = 1.6). Each student was asked to complete a baseline questionnaire and a 9-day diary. Experiences of discrimination were assessed in the questionnaire and daily diary format. Sleep problems were measured each day using self-report measures focusing on sleep quality. Internalized racism was assessed with the miseducation scale, which captures the degree to which individuals associate negative characteristics such as laziness and criminality with their racial/ethnic group. Established measures of racial identity were considered as covariates. Results Multilevel analyses indicated that on days when participants experienced more discrimination, subsequent sleep problems increased (B = .037, SE = .017, p = .034). Furthermore, this within-person association was moderated by internalized racism such that the effects of daily discrimination on sleep were stronger among those who scored higher on miseducation (B = .046, SE = .021, p = .033). Conclusions Overall, results suggest that ongoing efforts to reduce discrimination, support the adjustment of racial/ethnic minority students, and address internalized racism are warranted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Purposeful living involves planning daily life around personal pursuits. However, it is unclear whether people expect to have more purposeful days than they actually do, and which factors influence...

Most youth development programs strive to promote thriving, but scientific inquiry into how they achieve this aim is rare and often complicated by nuanced program structures and delivery. Across two studies, we explored how one thriving indicator, having a sense of purpose in life, may be cultivated by a statewide 4-H program. In Study 1, an inductive text mining approach called latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) was used to content analyze 63 4-H practitioners’ definitions of purpose and focus group conversations about how the program fosters this sense in youth. In Study 2, 113 4-H participants (aged 12–18 years, Mage = 14.77; 66% female) reported their purpose exploration and commitment and the extent to which they have engaged with particular program experiences. The LDA suggested educators believe 4-H fosters purpose by offering diverse and transformative activities that equip youth with key resources. Youth reports largely corroborated these beliefs: Correlational analyses revealed youth who felt they acquired life skills in 4-H reported greater purpose commitment, whereas youth who felt they had access to older youth with long-term aspirations reported greater purpose exploration. Implications for how 4-H and other programs might scaffold activities to promote youth purpose are discussed.

Developmental perspectives on self and identity view a sense of personal sameness and continuity as critical for positive adjustment. Thus, the degree to which individuals perceive change over time in self and direction constitutes an important individual difference. Here, we offer an empirically sound instrument for assessing the extent to which people feel temporally discrepant and off course-a sense we term derailment. First, we develop and empirically validate a self-report measure that is sensitive to our conceptualization of derailment (Studies 1-3). Employing the new measure with adult samples, Study 3 demonstrates its predictive ability above and beyond other widely used measures of subjective change and identity distress. Study 4 shows the negative effects of derailment persist independent of whether individuals perceive changing for the better or worse, or actually experience status-changing life events. Study 5 demonstrates the prospective utility of this measure by predicting depressive symptoms 18 months later. Finally, levels of derailment are shown to be reduced by a daily writing experiment that emphasizes goal continuity (Study 6). The discussion situates derailment at the intersection of developmental, clinical, and social psychological literatures as a unique and measurable source of psychological vulnerability, and strategies for attenuating its potentially deleterious impact are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Having a sense of purpose is associated with a wide variety of positive health outcomes, largely because purposeful individuals appear to take better care of themselves physically. However, work is limited regarding the role of purpose during health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.The current cross-sectional study investigated whether having a sense of purpose was associated COVID-19 vaccination rates and willingness, among a Swiss adult sample (n = 2328, Mean = 52.33 years), after accounting for participants' trust in different institutions.Results found that adults with higher levels of institutional trust were more likely to be vaccinated (rs range from 0.06 to 0.13) or were willing to do so (rs range from 0.22 to 0.39). Sense of purpose was associated modestly with greater vaccination status (r = 0.06). However, sense of purpose moderated several associations between trust and vaccination outcomes. Namely, sense of purpose was associated with greater likelihood for vaccination when individuals reported greater trust in university research centers and political institutions.Findings are discussed with respect to how they shape our understanding of purpose-health associations.

While opportunities for adolescents to drive their own learning are increasing, differences in motivations for and engagement in these opportunities are rarely investigated. The current study employed a sample of adolescents (N = 580, Mage = 16.53) enrolled in GripTape, a 10-week self-driven learning program in which youth pursue topics of their choosing. Cluster analysis classified adolescents based on their personal (e.g., resilience, competence) and ecological (e.g., adult support, safe environments) assets, resulting in two distinguishable groups. A High Asset group scored more favorably on these indicators than a Lower Asset group. Between-cluster comparisons revealed that compared to the Lower Asset group, the High Asset group reported greater levels of motivation for self-driven learning (i.e., intrinsic, extrinsic, and competence demonstration), but not engagement (i.e., positive learning experience, commitment to learning topics and activities). Subsequent tests showed that extrinsic motivation and competence demonstration negatively correlates with youth commitment to learning topics and activities. These findings enrich the literature concerning adolescents’ motivations for and engagement in self-driven learning, and how to support youth self-driven learning. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02412-0.

The COVID-19 pandemic has extensively changed the state of psychological science from what research questions psychologists can ask to which methodologies psychologists can use to investigate them. In this article, we offer a perspective on how to optimize new research in the pandemic’s wake. Because this pandemic is inherently a social phenomenon—an event that hinges on human-to-human contact—we focus on socially relevant subfields of psychology. We highlight specific psychological phenomena that have likely shifted as a result of the pandemic and discuss theoretical, methodological, and practical considerations of conducting research on these phenomena. After this discussion, we evaluate metascientific issues that have been amplified by the pandemic. We aim to demonstrate how theoretically grounded views on the COVID-19 pandemic can help make psychological science stronger—not weaker—in its wake.

High positive affect and low negative affect have been repeatedly tied to better individual and interpersonal well-being. However, research has focused on mean levels whereas the day-to-day unfolding of affect and its impact on romantic relationships remain largely unknown. Here, we examined the links between affect variability, mean levels of affect, and changes in perceptions of partner regard —the extent to which people believe that their partners value and accept them. One hundred and twenty-five African American couples (N = 250 individuals) reported how positively they thought their partners viewed them in two sessions (T1 and T2), separated by a 3-week daily diary study in which participants reported on their positive and negative affect each day for 21 consecutive days. Using dyadic analysis, we found that higher actor negative affect variability was associated with lower perceived regard at T2 controlling for perceived regard at T1. This finding held when controlling for mean levels of actor and partner negative affect. While higher mean levels of actor positive affect were associated with more favorable perceived regard, positive affect variability was not associated with subsequent perceived regard. These results highlight the importance of accounting for mean levels of affect when examining affect dynamics.

Collaborations between researchers and practitioners are valuable for community development but are challenging to implement. This study aimed to assess how researchers and practitioners perceive s...

We investigated reciprocity between depressive symptoms and a novel construct called derailment, which indexes perceived changes in identity and self-direction. People who are “derailed” have trouble reconciling how their life course has unfolded over time and, as a result, do not easily identify with their former self. College students ( N = 939) participated in a preregistered, four-wave longitudinal study over one academic year. Depression positively predicted subsequent derailment across all components of the model, suggesting that perceived disruptions in life course may occur in response to elevated depressive symptoms. Contrary to predictions, derailment negatively predicted later depression across most waves, indicating that felt changes in identity and self-direction could buffer against downstream mood deteriorations. Although our findings did not support reciprocity, prospective evidence that perceived instability of identity and self-direction relate to an increase in depressive symptoms positions derailment as a new and potentially important facet of the depressive phenotype.

Social relationships imbue life with meaning, whereas loneliness diminishes one's sense of meaning in life. Yet the extent of interdependence between these psychological constructs remains poorly understood. We took a multivariate network approach to examine resting-state fMRI functional connectivity’s association with loneliness and meaning in a large cohort of adults (N = 942). Loneliness and meaning in life were negatively correlated with one another. In their relationship with individually parcelled whole-brain measures of functional connectivity, a significant and reliable pattern was observed. Greater loneliness was associated with dense, and less modular, connections between default, frontoparietal, attention and perceptual networks. A greater sense of life meaning was associated with increased, and more modular, connectivity between default and limbic networks. Low loneliness was associated with more modular brain connectivity, and lower life meaning was associated with higher between-network connectivity. These findings advance our understanding of loneliness and life meaning as distinct, yet interdependent, features of sociality. The results highlight a potential role of the default network as a central hub, providing a putative neural mechanism for shifting between feelings of isolation and purpose.

Research suggests that individuals who report a greater sense of purpose in life tend to fare better economically, which may be expected to extend to the societal-level, in terms of higher GDP. However, previous work has demonstrated a negative association between citizens’ reports of purpose and GDP. The current study reconciles these differences by specifically considering an important component of sense of purpose missing in the past societal work, namely life engagement. Using data representative of 99% of the world’s adult population from 2013 to 2015 Gallup World Poll, results demonstrate a clear positive association between life engagement and countries’ GDP. Moreover, results demonstrate the distinctive importance of assessing life engagement relative to alternative metrics for related constructs.

Rationale Despite the clear public health significance of herd immunity to COVID-19, a host of individual differences influence willingness to get vaccinated. One factor likely to motivate individuals is the extent they have a sense of purpose in life, based on the health correlates of purpose and purposeful individuals’ desire to return to their pre-pandemic environments. Objective The current study examined sense of purpose as a predictor of COVID-19 vaccination willingness in the United States immediately following the initial approval of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States in 2020. Methods A nationwide sample of U. S. adults (N = 2009) completed a poll including information on their sense of purpose in life, demographic factors, and depressive symptoms, immediately following the initial approval of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States in 2020. In addition, they reported on how willing they would be to get the vaccine, assuming that the costs would be covered, as well as their motivations to get the vaccine. Results Multiple regression analyses found that sense of purpose predicted greater willingness to get vaccinated, even when accounting for demographic factors, political affiliation, and psychological wellbeing. Adults higher on sense of purpose reported greater importance of getting the vaccine for personal health, the health of others, and to return to regular activities. Exploratory analyses also suggest that purpose may provide a stronger impetus to vaccinate among those in age groups associated with lower risk for severe COVID-19 complications. Conclusions: Although cross-sectional in nature, the current findings suggest sense of purpose in life may be an important factor in encouraging vaccination. Implications are discussed regarding how purposeful messaging may yield greater vaccination rates among individuals who otherwise may be less motivated due to health concerns.

OBJECTIVE: Sense of purpose has been associated with greater health and well-being, even in daily contexts. However, it is unclear whether effects would hold in daily life during COVID-19, when people may have difficulty seeing a path towards their life goals. DESIGN: The current study investigated whether purposefulness predicted daily positive affect, negative affect, and physical symptoms. Participants (n = 831) reported on these variables during the first weeks of the COVID-19 response in North America. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants completed daily surveys asking them for daily positive events, stressors, positive affect, negative affect, physical symptoms, and purposefulness. RESULTS: Purposefulness at between- and within-person levels predicted less negative affect and physical symptoms, but more positive affect at the daily level. Between-person purposefulness interacted with positive events when predicting negative and positive affect, suggesting that purposeful people may be less reactive to positive events. However, between-person purposefulness also interacted with daily stressors, insofar that stressors predicted greater declines in positive affect for purposeful people. CONCLUSION: Being a purposeful person holds positive implications for daily health and well-being, even during the pandemic context. However, purposefulness may hold some consequences unique to the COVID-19 context, which merit attention in future research.

While sense of purpose is a robust predictor of well-being, little work has considered whether the associations vary based on future time perspective. Exploring this possibility is important given that the extent to which one may pursue their life aims could be dependent upon how much time they feel that they have remaining.Using three samples (totalAcross all three studies, people with a broader time perspective reported a higher sense of purpose. Both constructs predicted greater well-being, even after accounting for chronological age. Future time perspective moderated the associations between sense of purpose and well-being, such that the negative association between sense of purpose and negative affect was stronger for those with a broader time perspective and the positive association between sense of purpose and life satisfaction was stronger for those with a limited time perspective.The well-being benefits associated with sense of purpose in adulthood may depend on future time perspective. Findings are discussed in the context of how purpose can be harnessed to enhance well-being even when older adults feel that their time left is limited.

Researchers have called for gerontologists to spend greater attention on promoting happiness in older adulthood, a point aligned with the general public’s interest in finding the keys to being happy later in life. However, targeting and even defining happiness comes with several caveats and challenges, leaving researchers to make difficult decisions regarding measurement and intervention strategies. Instead, the current commentary suggests that gerontology interventions may fare better if researchers focus on specific components of positive psychological functioning. We present sense of purpose and life enjoyment as examples of two such components, and note the potential merit in developing these more focussed intervention programmes. As such, the commentary suggests the value of moving beyond targeting happiness when developing intervention programmes for older adult participants.

When perceived changes in course occur, individuals can be left feeling disconnected from who they were in the past. This sensation of being 'off-course' in life is an individual difference we call 'derailment.' In this article, we review derailment's unique contribution to the psychological literature, the role of perceived self and identity change in mental health, and the nuanced association between derailment and depression. Although depression has been emphasized in research to date, we argue for derailment's role in other types of mental illness, motivating several exciting directions for future work. For the pervasiveness of identity in our everyday lives, the study of derailment confers opportunities for better understanding the experience of psychopathology and approaching its treatment.

Sense of purpose has proven a consistent predictor of positive outcomes during adulthood. However, it remains unclear how purposeful adults respond to positive events in their daily lives. The current study examined whether sense of purpose predicted the frequency of daily positive events, as well as participants' affect on days with a positive event, across 8 days in an adult sample (n = 1959; mean age: 56 years). Sense of purpose predicted a greater frequency of daily positive events. Moreover, sense of purpose moderated the associations between daily positive events and daily positive affect; purposeful adults experienced less of an increase in positive affect both on the current day and the day following the positive event. Findings are discussed with respect to how purpose in life may serve homeostatic functions, insofar that having a life direction reduces responsivity to daily events and promote affect stability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychological research suggests a sense of purpose in life is a coveted asset, with well-established linkages to well-being and healthy functioning. But how do individuals preserve this sense when previously reliable settings – and the opportunities they afford – are profoundly disrupted? The current moment provides a formidable test of this question, as widespread transmission of Covid-19 and intense efforts to slow it drastically transform our environment. Here, we consider how the experience of purpose may be impacted by disruptions in three key person-environment interactions: how we engage with work, how we engage in education, and how we manage physical proximity. We hope to motivate critical thinking about how this pandemic, and our collective responses to it, influence the experience of purpose and delineate a research agenda that may inform how individuals’ can preserve a sense of engagement and contribution., Highlights • Research links sense of purpose with well-being and healthy functioning. • The current letter considers how purpose is preserved amid environmental uncertainty. • Four person-environment interactions are explored. • Covid-19 may present a formidable challenge to individuals maintaining sense of purpose.

Prior work has shown that confident behavior from Black individuals can be unfairly interpreted as arrogance (the “hubris penalty”). In two studies, we test predictions that the more NFL quarterbacks (QBs) are seen as representing Black culture, the more arrogant they will be judged. In Study 1, Black QBs were rated as more arrogant than White QBs on average, and Black and White QBs who were judged as more representative of Black culture were rated as more arrogant. Study 2 showed that viewing a QB celebrating increased perceptions of arrogance and led participants to see celebrating as less appropriate when the QB was Black. Findings are consistent with social dominance theory, such that QBs perceived as “representing Blackness” are disproportionately penalized for behaving confidently. Data can be found at https://osf.io/6snad/.

This study examined how two individual differences—autistic traits and sense of purpose—predict perceptions of purpose development and adult status. Participants ( N = 805, M age = 25.42 years) were surveyed via Qualtrics Panels. While sense of purpose positively correlated with each purpose pathway and perceived adult status, autistic traits negatively related to each outcome. We then tested the unique and interactive effects of autistic traits and sense of purpose on pathway endorsement and perceived adult status while controlling for age. Autistic traits negatively predicted proactive and reactive pathway endorsement, but did not appear to predict social learning pathway endorsement or perceived adult status. Sense of purpose continued to positively predict all outcomes and did not appear to modify the effect of autistic traits on any outcome. These findings are discussed with an eye toward future research, especially with regard to the apparent accessibility of the social learning pathway.

Diversity and inclusion are essential elements of 4-H’s goals related to positive youth development, workforce development, and organizational sustainability. Previous research has examined Cooperative Extension professionals’ attitudes on this topic, demonstrating that most of them recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion in 4-H. Here we present results from a survey of adolescents participating in New York state 4-H programs assessing their endorsement of racial/ethnic diversity and inclusion in 4-H. Results revealed that, overall, youth felt positively toward this kind of diversity and inclusion in 4-H, and endorsement was most strongly predicted by a learning orientation that emphasizes acquiring new information through intergroup contact. We conclude with considerations for 4-H programs seeking to help young people develop and maintain an openness to diversity and inclusion.

Recent evidence that reflecting on one’s purpose in life increases engagement with academic tasks inspires questions about whether purpose interventions might enhance learning engagement more broadly. This potential may be particularly fruitful for programs serving youth from a wide range of ages wherein sustaining engagement may be challenging. Here, we explored whether a brief purpose writing intervention would increase adolescents’ engagement in 4-H programs. Participants (N = 130) were randomly assigned to write about either their sense of purpose or a control topic prior to the first day of a program, and they reported their level of program engagement at the end of that day. Regression analysis showed participant age was negatively associated with program engagement. However, writing about purpose halted this age-related decline in engagement. These preliminary findings situate purpose as a resource that can be leveraged to sustain older youths’ interest and engagement in youth programming.

Having a sense of purpose in life has been discussed as a psychological asset for promoting positive youth development. Yet confidence in the benefits of purpose has accumulated faster than rigorou...

Background Having a sense of purpose in life has been consistently demonstrated as a predictor of positive health outcomes, including less perceived stress, yet, little is known about the role of sense of purpose on stressful days. Purpose The current study investigated the sense of purpose as a moderator of stressor-related changes in daily physical symptoms, positive affect, and negative affect. Methods A subset of the Midlife in the United States study (n = 1949, mage: 56.4 years) reported their sense of purpose, along with up to eight daily assessments of stressors, affect, and physical symptoms. Multilevel models evaluated whether sense of purpose was associated with deviations in affect or physical symptom reporting on days when participants reported a stressor versus days when stressors did not occur. Results Sense of purpose was associated with higher daily positive affect, lower daily negative affect, and fewer daily physical symptoms. Compared with individuals who reported lower levels of purpose, those reporting higher levels encountered the same number of daily stressors, yet showed less of an increase in negative affect and physical symptoms on stressor days than on stressor-free days. Purpose did not predict changes in positive affect in response to daily stressors. Conclusions Findings provide evidence that a purposeful life may be characterized by lower negative affect and physical symptom reporting on stressful days.

Much recent research has explored vegetarians' dietary motivations, recurrently highlighting the significant influence they exert on how people view themselves and others. For vegetarians and other plant-based dieters, dietary motivations have been theorized to be a central aspect of identity. Yet not all plant-based dieters are motivated to follow their diets; rather, some face aversions and constraints. In this paper, we propose that motivations, aversions, and constraints constitute three distinct reasons for consuming a plant-based diet. After conceptually distinguishing motivations from aversions and constraints, we critically evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of two conceptual frameworks that exist for studying these motivations systematically: the ethical-health framework and the Unified Model of Vegetarian Identity (UMVI) motivational orientations framework. Importantly, these frameworks serve different purposes, and their suitability often depends on the research question at hand. Particularly given an increasing prevalence of plant-based dieting, cultivating a more holistic understanding of these two frameworks is necessary for advancing this discipline. Directions for future research are discussed.

Purpose in life has been discussed as a psychosocial process in which individuals construct their life aims in relation to other people. Consequently, difficulty attending to social cues could limi...

Sociometer theory asserts that self-esteem is calibrated to one's perceived relational value. Accordingly, positive feedback should boost self-esteem because it signals acceptance by others. Yet, the extent to which self-esteem is sensitive to positive feedback may depend on individuals' sense of purpose. In two studies ( N = 342), we tested purpose in life as a source of self-directed and prosocial motivation and predicted that having greater purpose would lessen sensitivity to social media feedback. Study 1 revealed that the number of likes individuals received on their Facebook profile pictures was positively associated with self-esteem. Study 2 replicated these findings experimentally by manipulating the number of likes individuals received on self-photographs posted to a mock Facebook site. In both studies, links between likes and self-esteem were diminished for those with greater purpose. Implications for purpose as a moderator of the self-esteem contingencies of positive social feedback are discussed.

Background Studies have consistently demonstrated a positive cross-sectional association between depressive symptoms and derailment, or the sense of being “off-course” in life. Still unknown is whether all symptoms of depression similarly relate to derailment. Given that depressive symptoms do not weigh equally in the prediction of other important outcomes, this study aimed to bridge the gap between these novel findings and emerging perspectives focused on the impact of individual depressive symptoms. Methods The study was preregistered prior to data collection. The analytic sample contained 1,457 adults (Mage = 37.46 years, 54.22% female) recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Participants self-reported on depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and perceived changes in identity and self-direction using the Derailment Scale. Results All symptoms of depression shared positive unadjusted associations with derailment. Feelings of failure, fatigue, and sleep problems shared positive unique associations with derailment, and represented the top three contributors to the explained variance in derailment. Limitations This study relied on self-report methods, making results vulnerable to bias (e.g., social desirability, errors in memory, interpretation). Conclusions As work understanding the association between depressive symptoms and derailment continues to unfold, this study has provided markers for researchers and clinicians by suggesting that those who feel like they have failed, are fatigued, or report sleep problems may be the most likely to feel off-course and disconnected from their past selves. This work helps establish the utility of considering identity within the context of mental health, and future directions stemming from these findings are discussed.

Feeling a sense of purpose in life appears to hold consistent benefits for positive aging and well-being. As such, it is important to consider the potential factors that promote or hinder the development of purposefulness over the lifespan. For instance, it remains unclear whether early life experiences, particularly adverse ones, may hold lasting influences on whether one feels purposeful into adulthood. The current study examined whether early life adversity predicted a diminished sense of purpose in adulthood using data from participants ( N = 3835) in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. Reports of early life adversity were associated with lower levels of purpose in adulthood, and chronological age failed to moderate this relationship.

Having a sense of purpose in life appears valuable across life domains, though it remains unclear whether purpose also provides financial value to individuals. The current study examined sense of purpose as a predictor of concurrent and longitudinal income and net worth levels, using two waves of the MIDUS sample of adults (N = 4660 across both assessments). Participants who reported a higher sense of purpose had higher levels of household income and net worth initially, and were more likely to increase on these financial outcomes over the nine years between assessments. Interaction tests suggested some evidence of age moderation, but gender did not appear to moderate the influence of purpose on economic outcomes.