Sources of Meaning through the Lifespan

Abstract

185 men and women representing five developmental ages ranging from younger to older adulthood (17 to 96 yr) completed several measures to assess the amount and origins of most meaningful events in a person's life. As assessed by a modification of the Purpose-in-Life Test, the amount of purpose did not vary per se with age or sex. Similarly, the sources of meaning did not alter across time or sex. Themes of involvement emerged as the salient sources of meaning and included love, work, births of children, independent pursuits, accidents, illnesses, deaths, separations, or divorces, and to a lesser extent major purchases. The common sources and their timing are discussed within the context of a lifespan developmental model.

Meaning in Psychologists' Personal and Professional Lives

“…Psychologists' responses on the MILQ indicated that intimate relationships, family, and friendships brought the greatest meaning to their lives. These results are consistent with other studies that have consistently identified relationships with people as the most frequent source of meaning across the lifespan (Baum & Stewart, 1990;Debats, 1999;DeVogler & Ebersole, 1981;O'Connor & Chamberlain, 1996;Taylor & Ebersole, 1993;Yalom, 1980). These results are also consistent with Kaufman's (1986) assertion that most people express four to six main themes in their life stories.…”

Academic Press is an imprint of Elsevier

“…Despite lacking standards for the content analysis of autobiographical data, a global review of different studies shows some similarity in type of reported life events between men and women of different ages. For instance, Baum and Stewart (1990), as well as deVries and Watt (1996), found that women generally are more focused on school issues, romance, and childbirth, whereas workrelated events are more important for men. Younger adults mention more school-related events, friendship, and sexuality; middle-aged adults mention more childbirth and growth activities; and older respondents mention war, retirement, and health as being more important.…”

Spirituality, Meaning in Life, and Work Wellness: A Research Agenda

“…The third research propositions therefore states: (Battista & Almond, 1973). Although some studies found correlations between meaning in life and age (Baum & Stewart, 1990;Debats & Drost, 1995), empirical research results on the relationship of the degree of meaning with age are contradicting. In fact, most studies failed to find statistically significant relationships between meaning in life and biographical variables such as age, sex, qualifications, or culture (e.g., Debats et al, 1993;Debats, 1999;De Vogler-Ebersole & Ebersole, 1985).…”

“…In fact, research in sociology on the functions of work identified meaning as one of seven main rea sons why people work (Johada, 1982;Gill, 1999). Other studies found work to be a frequent source of meaning in life (Baum, & Stewart, 1990;Debats, 1999). Engagement in meaningful work is a central tenet of occupational therapy (Strong, 1998).…”

“…It is through their careers that people give expression to the contributions that make their lives meaningful. Furthermore, many people find meaning through their careers (Baum & Stewart, 1990). The ability to find one's personal identity, to integrate this identity with one's career and thus to find iden tity in one's career is an aspect of importance in work wellness.…”