The present study examined the relationship between age, integration of personality, and fear of death and two aspects of the meaning of life (content of values and degree of commitment). Three groups (young adulthood; middle adulthood; and late adulthood) of men and women from different cultural origins and various levels of education participated in the study. The subjects were requested to rank order eight types of values (understanding, relationship, service, belief, expression, obtaining, growth, and hedonism). They also responded to a questionnaire on the degree of commitment to the goal actualisation. The findings were analysed by means of analysis of variance, multiple regression, and smallest space analysis (S.S.A.). The results show that the late adulthood group differed from the other two groups in the content of meaning by shifting to a more spiritual set of values. Yet, interpersonal relationship was the most important value for all groups. Content of meaning was also related to one's level of education. The degree of commitment to goals was affected by integration of personality, age, and gender. Fear of death and cultural origin had no impact on content or commitment. The S.S.A. revealed two clear dimensions of the eight value categories: altruistic-egotistic and spiritual-materialistic.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.