Search

Identity formation in adolescence is closely linked to searching for and acquiring meaning in one's life. To date little is known about the manner in which these 2 constructs may be related in this developmental stage. In order to shed more light on their longitudinal links, we conducted a 3-wave longitudinal study, investigating how identity processes and meaning in life dimensions are interconnected across time, testing the moderating effects of gender and age. Participants were 1,062 adolescents (59.4% female), who filled in measures of identity and meaning in life at 3 measurement waves during 1 school year. Cross-lagged models highlighted positive reciprocal associations between (a) commitment processes and presence of meaning and (b) exploration processes and search for meaning. These results were not moderated by adolescents' gender or age. Strong identification with present commitments and reduced ruminative exploration helped adolescents in having a clear sense of meaning in their lives. We also highlighted the dual nature of search for meaning. This dimension was sustained by exploration in breadth and ruminative exploration, and it positively predicted all exploration processes. We clarified the potential for a strong sense of meaning to support identity commitments and that the process of seeking life meaning sustains identity exploration across time.

Although there is growing evidence supporting the association between intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and psychopathology, little is known about the covariation of IU and psychological distress day-to-day. The purpose of this ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study was to examine negative emotional and somatic correlates of trait IU and daily uncertainty, while investigating how a source of stability, meaning in life (MIL), might buffer against deleterious effects of IU and uncertainty. Adult community members (n = 62) from a mid-size town in the Rocky Mountain region completed baseline measures of IU and MIL and ecological momentary assessments (EMA) of meaning, uncertainty, affect, and somatic symptoms over the course of one week. Results indicate individuals high in trait IU experience more uncertainty day-to-day and greater distress when they feel uncertain compared to individuals lower in trait IU; however, MIL plays a stronger protective role for high IU compared to low IU individuals. These findings support and extend previous research showing IU is associated with psychological distress and that MIL may be a critical resource to cultivate. Interventions promoting meaning day-to-day may reduce the effects of uncertainty on the well-being of those highly intolerant of uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central aim of the present study was to assess the predictive value of affective disposition and meaningful work on employee engagement. Specifically, it was proposed that meaningful work moderates the relationship between affective disposition and engagement. Questionnaires were completed by 252 white-collar employees, working in a variety of organizations and jobs across Israel, recruited from community-based samples on a voluntary basis. As hypothesized, work engagement, affective disposition, and meaningful work were positively correlated. Additionally, a significant interaction between affective disposition and meaningful work was found. The relationship between affective disposition and work engagement was found to differ by the extent to which individuals perceived their work as meaningful. Specifically, when work was not perceived as meaningful, employees characterized by high scores on affective disposition were more strongly engaged compared to employees who were characterized by low scores on affective disposition. However, when work was perceived as meaningful, there was no difference in level of engagement found between those with high or low scores on affective disposition. The implications of these results are discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

Research on work as a calling is limited by measurement concerns. In response, the authors introduce the multidimensional Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ) and the Brief Calling scale (BCS), instruments assessing presence of, and search for, a calling. Study 1 describes CVQ development using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in a cross-validated split-sample approach with 456 undergraduates. The CVQ contained six reliable subscales that form CVQ-Presence and CVQ-Search scores, which demonstrated moderate 1-month test-retest reliability, good fit to a six-factor structure, and initial support for construct validity. Study 2 reports a multitrait-multimethod analysis with 134 undergraduates and 365 informants. Self-reported CVQ and BCS scores moderately to strongly correlated with informant reports and scores for both instruments correlated in hypothesized directions with work hope, prosocial work motivation, life meaning, and the search for meaning. CVQ and BCS scores provide psychometrically sound measures of calling, with the CVQ offering the potential for more fine-grained, multidimensional analyses. (Contains 4 tables.)

Many people desire work that is meaningful. However, research in this area has attracted diverse ideas about meaningful work (MW), accompanied by an equally disparate collection of ways of assessing MW. To further advance study in this area, the authors propose a multidimensional model of work as a subjectively meaningful experience consisting of experiencing positive meaning in work, sensing that work is a key avenue for making meaning, and perceiving one's work to benefit some greater good. The development of a scale to measure these dimensions is described, an initial appraisal of the reliability and construct validity of the instrument's scores is reported using a sample of university employees (N = 370) representing diverse occupations. MW scores correlated in predicted ways with work-related and general well-being indices, and accounted for unique variance beyond common predictors of job satisfaction, days reported absent from work, and life satisfaction. The authors discuss ways in which this conceptual model provides advantages to scholars, counselors, and organizations interested in fostering MW. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

In career counseling, social justice is typically integrated by helping oppressed groups navigate their way around obstacles of injustice while also working to dislodge the oppressive conditions from society. The authors affirm both of these courses of action while also advocating a third strategy: inviting clients to serve as agents of change by introducing and incorporating prosocial values into career development interventions. This article makes the case that this strategy may enhance client well-being while simultaneously promoting harmony among organizations and society. Support for this strategy comes from theory, research, and the ethical approaches for working with values in counseling.

Although the role of existential attitudes in adolescent health-related behavior has received increased attention recently, historically it has been underinvestigated in the field. The present study focuses on existential attitudes related to meaning in life and hopelessness. Relations of presence of meaning, search for meaning, and hopelessness with past and anticipated future involvement in problem- and health-enhancing behaviors were examined in a cross-sectional study of Eastern European (Transylvania, Romania) adolescents (N = 426, 42.1% males; M age = 16.5 year, range 15-18 years). Results indicated that these existential variables were significantly related to higher levels of healthy behaviors and lower levels of problem behaviors (hopelessness inversely). Among these existential factors, the search for meaning in life was the most significant contributor factor for adolescent behavior. As an overall conclusion, results point to the significant role that the search for meaning in life may play in the relation with adolescents' problem and health behaviors. (Contains 5 tables.)

The current study tested the hypothesis that experiencing a calling to a particular career would relate positively to work-related outcomes, and that these relations would be mediated by career commitment. Using a sample of 370 employees representing diverse occupations at a Western research university, results supported these hypotheses as calling moderately correlated with career commitment, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment and weakly correlated with withdrawal intentions. Career commitment was found to fully mediate the calling-job satisfaction relation, partially mediate the calling-organizational commitment relation, and act as a suppressor in the relation between calling and withdrawal intentions; calling was associated with somewhat greater withdrawal intentions once a person's level of career commitment was taken into consideration. These results suggest that career commitment may represent a critical link between calling and work-related well-being. Implications for research and practice are explored. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Developing a sense of purpose is both salient and desirable for adolescents, and purpose in people's lives and careers is associated with both general and work-related well-being. However, little is known about whether purpose can be encouraged through school-based interventions. This article reports the results of a quasi-experimental pilot study and follow-up focus group that evaluated Make Your Work Matter, a three-module, school-based intervention designed to help adolescent youth explore, discover, and enact a sense of purpose in their early career development. Participants were eighth-grade students. Compared to the control group, the intervention group reported increases in several outcomes related to purpose-centered career development, such as a clearer sense of career direction; a greater understanding of their interests, strengths, and weaknesses; and a greater sense of preparedness for the future. However, no significant differences were found on items directly related to purpose, calling, and prosocial attitudes. These results inform the ongoing development of Make Your Work Matter and other school-based career interventions and pave the way for larger-scale trials of such purpose-promoting intervention strategies.

This investigation is a preliminary report on a new measure of internalization of the model minority myth. In 3 studies, there was evidence for the validation of the 15-item Internalization of the Model Minority Myth Measure (IM-4), with 2 subscales. The Model Minority Myth of Achievement Orientation referred to the myth of Asian Americans' greater success than other racial minority groups associated with their stronger work ethics, perseverance, and drives to succeed. The Model Minority Myth of Unrestricted Mobility referred to the myth of Asian Americans' greater success than other racial minority groups associated with their stronger belief in fairness of treatment and lack of perceived racism or barriers at school or work. The 2-subscale structure of the IM-4 was supported by a combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, with support of discriminant, convergent, and incremental validity, as well as internal reliability and stability over 2 weeks. The IM-4 is a new measure that taps into a uniquely racialized experience of Asian Americans with research and clinical implications. (Contains 4 tables.)

Recent scholarship indicates that people who view their work as a calling are more satisfied with their work and their lives. Historically, calling has been regarded as a religious experience, although modern researchers frequently have adopted a more expansive and secular conceptualization of calling, emphasizing meaning and personal fulfillment in work. The assumption that calling can be easily secularized and applied has not been tested. Therefore, we tested whether calling was related to psychological adjustment and positive work attitudes of both highly religious and less religious college students (N = 242). We also tested whether these positive relations were mediated by people's intrinsic religiousness or by a broader, secular construct, meaning in life. Moderation-mediation analyses supported views of calling centering on people's experience of meaning in their work rather than more constrained religious views. Implications for future research and practical applications of calling to positive work attitudes are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

Dysfunctional social behavior has been implicated in the experience of depression. People with higher levels of depressive symptoms report more frequent negative social interactions and react more strongly to them. It remains unknown, however, whether reaction strength differs depending on whether social interactions are positive or negative. Drawing on socioevolutionary models of depression (N. B. Allen & P. B. T. Badcock, 2003), the authors propose that people with higher levels of depressive symptoms should react more strongly not only to negative social interactions but also to positive social interactions and a sense of belonging. Using nonclinical samples, 2 daily process studies examined the role of depression in people's reactivity to social interactions in natural, ongoing, social contexts. In Study 1, the number of positive and negative social events showed a stronger relation to well-being among people with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Study 2 extended this finding to perceptions of belonging in memorable social interactions, finding a stronger link between belonging and well-being among people with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Together these studies provide the first indication that depressive symptoms may sensitize people to everyday experiences of both social rejection and social acceptance. (Contains 1 footnote, 3 tables, and 2 figures.)

Although having a sense of purpose and meaning in life has been found to play an important role in overall life and career satisfaction, this is not an area that is typically cultivated during career exploration activities. This article provides a model for aiding students in developing a sense of purpose in their career search through strengths-based practices. The authors present five key elements that reinforce the development of purpose, including identity, self-efficacy, metacognition, culture, and service. Each of these areas is used as a focal point to help identify ways for students to recognize and rely on their strengths in the development of meaningful careers. Each element is defined, relevant research is provided, and strategies for promoting each element are discussed. Additionally, the relationship between purpose-centered career development and the career standards of the ASCA National Model[R] is presented.

In this study, we compared the prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth following the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and the March 11, 2004, Madrid, Spain train bombings. We also examined meaning in life as a correlate of posttrauma outcomes. A sample of midwestern college students (N = 188) reported less PTSD symptom severity following September 11 than did a sample of college students from southern Spain (N = 48) following the Madrid bombings. Americans reported more positive change than Spaniards following terrorism. Meaning in life was related to more positive outcomes in both countries. (Contains 3 tables.)

A randomized controlled trial was used to test (1) the efficacy of a two-session career development workshop for college student participants; (2) the effect of counselor self-disclosure on outcomes; and (3) the effect of infusing calling and vocation concepts on outcomes. Both standard (person-environment fit) and calling/vocation-infused interventions improved career decision self-efficacy relative to a wait-list control. Counselor self-disclosure also increased participant career decision self-efficacy in both conditions and increased appraisals of meaning in life for participants in calling/vocation-infused workshops. Incorporating considerations of calling and vocation neither detracted from nor added to workshop effectiveness. Career development workshops were supported, as was the use of moderate counselor self-disclosure. Suggestions for career counseling practice and intervention research are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

This article describes and demonstrates a novel approach to assessing goals and motives among individuals engaged in the career decision-making and planning process. Participants generated five career development strivings, rated each striving along several dimensions (self-efficacy, outcome expectations, sense of calling, spiritual significance, and materialism), and completed measures of conceptually related and unrelated variables. Results indicated adequate to strong internal consistency reliability for the strivings appraisal scale scores, and the pattern of correlations support the convergent and discriminant validity for scores obtained using this approach. We conclude that the career development strivings strategy has great potential as a flexible and efficient tool for use in career development research and practice. (Contains 2 tables.)

Counselors and researchers interested in examining meaning in life often use the Life Regard Index (LRI; J. Battista & R. Almond, 1973). In this study, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) of several factor models based on J. Battista & R. Almond's work failed to support the structural validity of the LRI. CFA results suggested an influence of positive and negative item wording, and subsequent exploratory factor analyses suggested 3 factors for the LRI. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

In their reaction to the Major Contribution, the authors outline four specific research areas where counseling psychologists could make particularly important contributions: (a) the study of multicultural aspects of optimal human functioning, (b) self-efficacy and well-being, (c) positive interpersonal relationship processes, and (c) meaning in life.

Counseling psychologists often work with clients to increase their well-being as well as to decrease their distress. One important aspect of well-being, highlighted particularly in humanistic theories of the counseling process, is perceived meaning in life. However, poor measurement has hampered research on meaning in life. In 3 studies, evidence is provided for the internal consistency, temporal stability, factor structure, and validity of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), a new 10-item measure of the presence of, and the search for, meaning in life. A multitrait-multimethod matrix demonstrates the convergent and discriminant validity of the MLQ subscales across time and informants, in comparison with 2 other meaning scales. The MLQ offers several improvements over current meaning in life measures, including no item overlap with distress measures, a stable factor structure, better discriminant validity, a briefer format, and the ability to measure the search for meaning.