engleski

What brings meaning to life: Sources of meaning and meaning in life in adulthood

Background: This study investigated what makes life meaningful and reasons for attributing meaning to specific sources. In particular, it explored (1) the most frequently reported sources and reasons for meaning across regions, and (2) objective factors (demographic variables) and subjective factors (meaningfulness in domains) that predict sources of meaning. Methods: Participants (N=2591) from 11 countries were asked to list the three most meaningful things in their life, to explain why each of them was meaningful and to assess the level of meaningfulness in ten life domains. Findings: Participants provided 7484 answers reporting sources of meaning and 8872 reasons for meaning. The most prominent sources of meaning were family, work and interpersonal relationships. Personal life was by far the most common reason for attributing meaning, with ‘value, meaning’ as predominating subcategory. Hierarchical logistic regressions examined the contribution of objective and subjective factors to predicting sources of meaning. Objective factors contributed more to family, interpersonal relationships, community & society issues and leisure, whereas subjective factors contributed more to work and spirituality. Compared to North Americans, participants from Europe, Central & South America and Africa more often ascribed meaning to work. On the other hand, participants from Asia and Oceania were more likely to derive meaning from community & society issues. Discussion: The findings confirm previous research that most people find meaning in family, work and interpersonal relationships. Personal life is the most common reason for attributing meaning with the majority of answers indicating that the source of meaning is an "ungrounded grounder", having value unto itself.

Meaning in life ; Soucres of meaning ; Life domains ; Well-Being ; Qualitative study ; Cross-cultural

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