Psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Purpose in Life scale

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test the theoretical assumptions beyond the Purpose in Life (PIL) scale, and to elucidate the underlying structure of the Swedish version of the PIL. The PIL, originally created by Crumbaugh and Maholick, is a 20-item scale of the Lickert type with possible scores ranges from 20 to 140, the higher score, the stronger PIL. The analysis was based on 449 participants, 62% of whom were women, from five different samples, ranging from 19 to 103 years old. An exploratory factor analysis restricted to three factors was performed. The factors were labelled meaning in existence, freedom to create meaning in daily life, and will to find meaning in future challenges. These factors reflected the three dimensions described by Frankl. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.83 and varied between 0.54 and 0.83 in the three factors. We concluded that the Swedish version of the PIL scale seems to have construct validity and reliability. Our results give support to the fact that the PIL scale captures and confirms the theoretical assumptions of Frankl's existential theory. We consider the PIL scale to be both feasible and appropriate for use in nursing research.

Estructura factorial y consistencia interna de una versión española del Purpose-In-Life Test

“…ej., Jonsén et al, 2010;Magaña et al, 2004;Melton & Schulenberg, 2007, 2008Noblejas de la Flor, 2000;Nygren et al, 2005;Reker, 2000;Schulenberg, 2004). El factor SSV mostró una alta consistencia interna, α = 0.848, y la del factor MPV fue aceptable, α = 0.71.…”

“…Schulenberg y Melton (2010) realizaron un estudio en el que compararon varios de los modelos propuestos en la literatura para el PIL, mediante análisis factorial confirmatorio, obteniendo para Jonsén et al (2010), con una muestra de 449 suecos (278 mujeres y 166 hombres entre 19 y 103 años), obtuvieron una estructura trifactorial y una consistencia interna (alfa de Cronbach) para el total de la escala de 0.83. La consistencia interna fue de 0.83, 0.64 y 0.54, respectivamente, para los factores Sentido de la existencia (ítems 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 y 20; 26.9 % de la varianza), Libertad para crear sentido en la vida cotidiana (ítems 10, 14, 15, 17-19; 7.7 % de la varianza) y Voluntad para encontrar sentido ante retos futuros (ítems 2, 5 y 7; 6.6 % de la varianza).…”

Meaning-in-Life in Nursing Home Patients: A Validation Study of the Purpose-in-Life Test

“…They differ markedly in terms of the procedures employed and results; two primary factor-analytic studies propose onefactor models of the PIL (Marsch, Smith, Piek, & Saunders, 2003;Steger, 2006) reporting one 17-item and one 16-item one-dimensional model, respectively. Furthermore, various two-factor models of the PIL have been published (Dufton & Perlman, 1986;McGregor & Little, 1998;Molcar & Stuempfig, 1988;Morgan & Farsides, 2007;Schulenberg & Melton, 2010;Shek 1988;Waisberg & Starr, 1999;Walters & Klein, 1980), as well as a recent three-factor structure (Jonsén et al, 2010). Thus, addressing the uncertainty regarding the PIL's dimensionality seems essential, as well as investigating its validity and reliability among NH patients.…”

Predicting role of meaning in life on depression, hopelessness, and suicide risk among Spanish Borderline Personality Disorder patients

“…The original PIL-Part A is a 20 item, 7-point Likert-type response format related to different aspects of the meaning in life: meaning, purpose or mission in life, satisfaction with one's life, freedom, fear of death, and valuation of life. Several recent studies have analyzed the psychometric properties of this scale, providing evidence of a good internal consistency (e.g., Jonsén et al, 2010;Schulenberg, Schnetzer, & Buchanan, 2011), although its validity has often been questioned since it measures different concepts (e.g., meaning in life, fear to death, or freedom) by way of social desirability bias, and it is also a scale heavily loaded with values. Another aspect of the PIL that has also been tested on a recurring basis is the structure factor.…”