Meaning and Purpose in Life and Well-being: a Life-span Perspective
- 1 January 1987
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Gerontology
- Vol. 42 (1) , 44-49
- https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/42.1.44
Abstract
Three hundred men and women at five developmental stages from young adulthood to the old-old completed measures of life attitudes and well-being. Significant age differences were found on five life attitude dimensions: life purpose (LP), death acceptance (DA), goal seeking (GS), future meaning (FM), and Existential Vacuum (EV). LP and DA increased with age; GS and FM decreased with age; EV showed a curvilinear relationship with age. Significant sex differences were found for life control (LC) and will to meaning (WM). Women viewed life as more under their control and expressed a stronger will to find meaning as compared with males. FM, LP, and LC were found to predict psychological and physical well-being; EV, GS, and DA predicted psychological and physical discomfort. Preliminary findinGS attest to the importance of various life attitudes in promoting health and wellness.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Psychological and Physical Well-Being in the Elderly: The Perceived Well-Being Scale (PWB)Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, 1984
- The Life Attitude Profile (LAP): A multidimensional instrument for assessing attitudes toward life.Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1981