Meaning in life and psychological distress: A meta-analysis

IF 2.6 2区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL

Journal of Research in Personality Pub Date : 2023-06-01 DOI:10.1016/j.jrp.2023.104381

Xiao-Xin He , Xin-qiang Wang , Michael F. Steger , Li-Jun Ji , Kai Jing , Ming-fan Liu , Bao-juan Ye

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Abstract

This meta-analysis examined the overall magnitude of the associations between psychological distress and the presence of meaning in life (PML) and search for meaning in life (SML). We identified 108 articles with 76,892 combined participants. We found that (1) psychological distress was significantly negatively correlated with PML and significantly positively correlated with SML; (2) language and sample type moderated the relationship between psychological distress and SML but not PML; (3) culture and region, but not mean age and gender, moderated the relationships between psychological distress and PML and SML; and (4) distress indicators moderated the relationships between psychological distress and PML (strongest for depression and weakest for negative affect) and SML (strongest for anxiety and weakest for suicidal ideation). Thus, the association between meaning in life and psychological distress is nuanced and depends on various conceptual and demographic characteristics.

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生活意义与心理困扰:一项荟萃分析

这项荟萃分析检验了心理困扰与生活意义的存在（PML）和寻找生活意义（SML）之间的总体关联程度。我们鉴定了108篇文章，共有76892名参与者。研究发现：（1）心理困扰与PML呈显著负相关，与SML呈显著正相关；（2）语言和样本类型调节心理困扰与SML的关系，但不调节PML；（3）文化和地区，而不是年龄和性别，调节了心理困扰与PML和SML的关系；（4）痛苦指标调节了心理痛苦与PML（抑郁最强，负面影响最弱）和SML（焦虑最强，自杀意念最弱）之间的关系。因此，生活意义和心理痛苦之间的联系是微妙的，取决于各种概念和人口特征。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Research in Personality PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL-

CiteScore

5.40

自引率

6.10%

发文量

102

审稿时长

67 days

期刊介绍： Emphasizing experimental and descriptive research, the Journal of Research in Personality presents articles that examine important issues in the field of personality and in related fields basic to the understanding of personality. The subject matter includes treatments of genetic, physiological, motivational, learning, perceptual, cognitive, and social processes of both normal and abnormal kinds in human and animal subjects. Features: • Papers that present integrated sets of studies that address significant theoretical issues relating to personality. • Theoretical papers and critical reviews of current experimental and methodological interest. • Single, well-designed studies of an innovative nature. • Brief reports, including replication or null result studies of previously reported findings, or a well-designed studies addressing questions of limited scope.