The concept and measurement of meaning in life in Dutch cancer patients

Abstract

We investigated the psychometric properties of a Dutch translation of the Personal Meaning Profile in a heterogeneous group of cancer patients. Our study resulted in a relatively short scale consisting of 39 of the 57 original items, divided into 5 factors, labeled 'relation with God'; 'dedication to life'; 'fairness of life'; 'goal-orientedness' and 'relations with other people', which can be summed to a total score of the experience of meaning in life. The internal consistency of the total scale as well as of its sub dimensions was high. The experience of meaning in life was positively related to feelings of psychological well-being and negatively to feelings of distress. Furthermore, the experience of meaning in life was also related to trait-like characteristics as personality. Future research can investigate its appropriateness for other populations than cancer patients, and if and how the experience of meaning in life eventually changes as a result of existential threats.

Life goals and purpose in life in cancer patients

“…As older adults are more likely to maintain traditional gender roles and to be retired, cancer is more likely to disrupt women's opportunities for feeling useful than men's, for example, in doing housework such as cooking for their husbands. Similar to Jim et al [23] and Thompson and Pitts [40], but contrary to other studies [7,20,22,29], we did not find significant age differences in purpose in life. Most of the previous studies focused on cancer survivors, in which younger respondents had often resumed interrupted roles, such as wage-earner, and could derive meaning from them.…”

“…As some studies found higher purpose in life in younger than in older cancer patients [7,20,22,29], in married as compared to unmarried patients [29,39], in men as compared to women [34], and-in samples not specific to cancer-in persons with higher socioeconomic status (SES) [30], we controlled for these variables in our multivariate analysis.…”

An Examination of Meaning in Life, Satisfaction with Life, Self-Concept and Locus of Control among Teachers

“…According to existentialist psychologists, meaning increases the quality of life and hope while mitigating the thought of suicide (Mascaro & Rosen, 2005;Dogra, Basu & Das, 2011). In other studies, meaning in life was found to be positively related to psychological well-being (De Klerk et al, 2009;Jaarsma, Pool, Ranchor & Sanderman, 2007), extraversion, adaptability, responsibility, and personal traits and negatively related to neurotic personal traits (Jaarsma et al, 2007). It is understood from the studies that the results regarding the relationship between meaning in life and sociodemographics are contradictory and no relationship was found in most studies (De Klerk et al, 2009).…”

The influence of spirituality in pediatric cancer management: a systematic review

“…[16] For example, patients with cancer who are able to develop a sense of peace and equanimity in their cancer experience tend to have better quality of life [13,27] and better psychological health. [13,26,27,28,29] In children, spirituality has been defined as the ability to derive personal value and transcend beyond the self through relationships with others.…”

“…[16] For example, patients with cancer who are able to develop a sense of peace and equanimity in their cancer experience tend to have better quality of life [13,27] and better psychological health. [13,26,27,28,29] In children, spirituality has been defined as the ability to derive personal value and transcend beyond the self through relationships with others. [30,15] As a result, Kamper R et al [15] searchers elucidates that children's view their parents as a "guardians" of sorts by downplaying symptoms, "acting" like they felt better, and having a cheerful demeanor as they protected their parents/family members.…”