A performance of liberation: Improving mental health and igniting social change

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone's health and well-being and has resulted in the shift of conventional face-to-face classes to online instruction. This has had major negative effects on students who are facing the difficulty of online classes in terms of their physical and mental health. 
 Objectives: The study determined the relationship between stress and anxiety on emotional social and psychological well-being among nursing students. 
 Methods: The study utilized descriptive cross-sectional research and a purposive sample of 210 nursing students was included in the study. The data were collected from November 2020 to December 2020. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), General Anxiety Disorders Scale (GAD-7), and Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) (which measures emotional, psychological, and social well-being) were used to collect the necessary data. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson's r correlation were utilized to analyze the gathered data. 
 Results: The participants were shown to have a moderate level of stress (M=19.53; SD=±3.29), moderate level of anxiety (M=14.43; SD=±7.62), and moderate mental health. Further, stress was shown to have a significant negative correlation with emotional well-being (r= -0.218; p=0.000), social well-being (r= -0.175; p=0.000), psychological well-being (r= -0.219; 0.000), and the over-all mental well-being (r= -0.222, p=0.000). Also, it was noted that anxiety has a significant negative relationship with emotional well-being (r= -0.418; p=0.000), social well-being (r= -0.280; p=0.000), psychological well-being (r= -0.331; p=0.000) and over-all mental well-being (r= -0.362; p=0.000). 
 Conclusion: In light of mental health concerns among nursing students, faculty and administrators have a professional responsibility to address foreseeable psychological stressors and promote the mental well-being of students in their institution. The protection and development of mental well-being will allow students to maintain academic excellence and facilitate future success.

The association between ethical AI use and well-being among young adults in the UAE: a structural equation modeling approach

Caitlyn Donaldson, Policy Officer at the Royal Society for Public Health, looks at positive mental wellbeing and how it is being promoted through the work of the RSPH.Mental health and wellbeing is increasingly becoming key topic for the RSPH, and we support the recent NHS Mandate for England1 which states that there needs to be parity between mental and physical health, acknowledging that there can be 'No health without mental health'2The WHO defines mental health as a state of wellbeing in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make contribution to his or her community. As in the WHO's definition of health (a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity) mental health is not just the absence of illness, but requires an additional positive 'something' to be present in the individual. Thus, the concept of an individual's mental health state is increasingly being uncoupled from mental illness, and being seen to consist of psychological, emotional and social components.The highest state of subjective wellbeing is seen by many experts as the place where emotional, psychological and social wellbeing are combined, enabling individuals to flourish.3 Thus, rather than simply focusing on preventing and treating mental illness, there is potential to actively promote positive mental health.Mental health and wellbeing impacts upon an individual's physical health, relationships, education, work and ability to reach their potential. At population level, it has consequences for the country's economy, levels of crime, drug and alcohol dependence and homelessness,4 and as Friedli states: health is also key pathway through which social inequality impacts on health.5Many of the key determinants of mental health are located within social and economic domains,6 which provides opportunity for intervention.In 2011 nef published report to address the question of how flourishing mental health could be promoted and increased.7 The result was their five ways to wellbeing: 'connect'; 'be active'; 'take notice'; 'keep learning'; and 'give'. These five ways are easily applied at individual, community, organizational and strategic levels; and evidence suggests that they are being used in many different settings to encourage improved mental wellbeing.The RSPH believes that policymakers at national and local level have responsibility to ensure that policies help address, not increase, inequalities in mental health and wellbeing. The Department of Health's mental health implementation framework8 provides an important perspective on translating policy into practical actions for improving mental health and we support the use of mental wellbeing impact assessment (MWIA), to ensure that policy, programme, service or project has maximum equitable impact on people's mental wellbeing - at individual, community or national level. We also endorse the Guidance for Commissioning Public Mental Health Services,9 which provides the rationale for spending on mental health and also explains what good quality public mental health interventions look like. …

In the realm of psychology, mental well-being has become a growing focus of attention, especially amid increasing awareness of the importance of mental health in individuals' lives. To understand the factors that influence mental well-being, the relationship between religiosity and mental health has been the subject of interesting research. So this study aims to determine the relationship between religiosity and mental health in achieving psychological well-being. Method The methods used in this study are literature review, data collection techniques by reviewing journals contained in Google Scholar between 2019-2024 with the keywords "religiosity, mental health, psychological well-being", and data analysis using content analysis that summarizes the in-depth discussion of the information contained in the predetermined journal. Based on the results of data analysis, 13 relevant journals were obtained that can answer the researchers' questions. The results found that religiosity, as a dimension of spirituality that focuses on individual beliefs, practices, and involvement in religious activities, has become an important factor in shaping mental health to achieve psychological well-being.

Forgiveness is the framing of a perceived transgression such that one's responses to the transgressor, transgression, and sequelae of the transgression are transformed from negative to neutral or positive. The source of a transgression, and therefore the object of forgiveness, may be oneself, another person or persons, or a situation that one views as being beyond anyone's control (Thompson et al., 2005) Currently, there is great theoretical interest in the possibility that forgiveness is involved in promoting well-being. Various models suggest that forgiveness can offer opportunities for recognizing a deeper meaning in the transgression, developing compassion for others, appreciating social support systems, and discovering a renewed sense of life purpose (Enright, Freedman, & Rique, 1998). Empirical studies suggest that forgiveness have potential benefits for mental health (Toussaint & Webb, 2005), and well-being (Brown, 2003 ; Karremans, Van Lange, Ouwerkerk, & Kluwer, 2003; Karuse & Ellison, 2003).Psychological well-beingPsychological well-being is usually conceptualized as some combination of positive affective states such as happiness (the hedonic perspective) and functioning with optimal effectiveness in individual and social life (the eudaimonic perspective) (Deci & Ryan, 2008). Psychological well-being is about lives going well. It is the combination of feeling good and functioning effectively (Huppert, 2009). Psychological well-being refers to one's positive intrapersonal, interpersonal, and social functioning that is influenced by his or her perception and meaning given to his or her life situations (Ryff & Singer, 1996). Psychological well-being can be measured as emotional well-being in a hedonistic sense (i.e., experiencing more positive affect than negative affect) and positive psychological functioning in a eudaimonic sense (i.e., living a meaningful life and fulfilling one's potentials).Psychological distressPsychological distress is viewed as an emotional condition that involves negative views of the self, others and the environment and is characterized by unpleasant subjective states such as feeling tense, worried, worthless and irritable (Barlow and Durand, 2005). These subjective states can reduce the emotional resilience of individuals and impact on their ability to enjoy life and to cope with pain, disappointment and sadness. Psychological distress can be viewed as a continuum in which people can move from experiencing wellbeing to distress andback at various times throughout their lives (Horwitz and Scheid, 1999; Mechanic, 1999).A link between forgiveness and mental and physical health has attracted much attention in psychological research (McCullough, 2000; Thoresen, Harris, & Luskin, 2000). In forgiveness research, psychological well-being has often been considered equivalent to global satisfaction of life, minimal psychological distress or absence of psychopathology, or a combination of certain positive cognition and affect. Thus, a possible relationship between forgiveness and psychological well-being in the eudaimonic sense has been overlookedPrior research suggested that trait forgiveness is generally more strongly correlated with some aspects or components of psychological well-being and other mental health variables than state forgiveness (McCullough & Witvliet, 2002).HFS was also foundto positively predict satisfaction with life and negatively predict trait anger, state anxiety, and depression among college students (Thompson et al., 2005).Among the wide variety' of protective factors that have been recognized, acceptance, forgiveness, and gratitude appear to be three personal characteristics that have been found to be closely related to psychological well-being (McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002; Nakamura & Orth, 2005).The Human Development Study Group (1991) revealed positive results, indicating that the promotion of forgiveness enhances psychological well-being among individuals coping with a variety of serious offenses. …

Stressful life events are events that do not fulfil the A criterion of PTSD in the DSM-5(TR) but are perceived as negative by the person. There is an ongoing debate about the usefulness of the A criterion as a gate criterion for PTSD, and especially regarding which events qualify as traumatic or stressful life events. This debate is particularly important for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) or borderline intellectual functioning (BIF), as they seem to be more likely to experience traumatic and stressful life events than their peers without ID-BIF and appear to be more susceptible to the disruptive effects of these events. As a result, people with ID-BIF are more likely to develop mental health and behavioural problems. There is insufficient knowledge about how the relationship between stressful life events and PTSD symptoms should be interpreted, how traumatic and stressful life events are defined and distinguished in people with ID, and whether the A criterion should be broadened for individuals with ID-BIF. The aim of this scoping review was to understand stressful life events and their relationship with PTSD symptoms, other mental health and/or behavioural problems in individuals with ID-BIF. The scoping review was conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Thirty-eight studies were included. Five studies focused on stressful life events and PTSD symptoms. The other studies examined associations between stressful life events and other mental health and/or behavioural problems. Most of the studies did not clearly differentiate between stressful and traumatic events according to the A criterion of PTSD in the DSM-IV (TR) or DSM-5(TR). Of the six studies in which stressful life events were specified and could be distinguished from traumatic events, one found a positive association between PTSD symptoms and stressful life events and five showed weak to strong positive associations with other mental health and/or behavioural problems. PTSD symptoms following stressful life events in individuals with ID-BIF are underrepresented in the literature. The lack of a clear definition of stressful life events leads to a gap in the knowledge on whether and how stressful life events may lead to PTSD symptoms, other mental health and/or behavioural problems in individuals with ID-BIF. Therefore, no general conclusions or recommendations can be made regarding the appropriateness of the PTSD A criterion for individuals with ID-BIF. Further research is needed to establish the role of stressful life events in relation to PTSD symptoms and to inform the assessment and effective treatment in people with ID-BIF, as expert clinical experience studies suggest that broadening the PTSD A criterion should be considered for people with ID-BIF.

The professionalization of psychology yielded many advantages, but also led to a main focus on psychopathology in mental health care. This thesis investigated an additional positive approach to mental health, focusing on positive feelings and life satisfaction (emotional well-being) and optimal functioning in both individual (psychological well-being) and social life (social well-being). This approach fits in with the definition of mental health by the World Health Organization. The thesis investigated the measurement, relevance and implications of this positive approach to mental health through a longitudinal study in a representative sample of Dutch adults (LISS-panel, CentERdata, Tilburg). First, the thesis shows that the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) is a valid and reliable self-report questionnaire to measure emotional, psychological and social well-being. Second, it demonstrates the relevance of this positive approach. Traditionally, the presence of psychopathology implied the absence of positive mental health, but this thesis shows that positive mental health and psychopathology are two related continua of mental health (two-continua model). This indicates that a person with many symptoms of psychopathology has a greater chance on experiencing low well-being, but this relation is not perfect. An individual may be suffering from mental illness and experience a relatively high positive mental health as well. Third, the implications of positive mental health as an additional indicator of mental health were examined. The thesis shows that emotional well-being is predictive of recovery and survival in physically ill patients and that changes in positive mental health predict future levels of psychopathology. In sum, this thesis indicates that it is insufficient in mental health care to only pay attention to symptoms of psychopathology. Neither the alleviation of psychopathological symptoms nor the promotion of positive mental health is sufficient for good mental health. A broad approach is necessary, which also focuses on positive mental health in both diagnostics and treatment.

This study examined the impact of psychological capital—comprising hope, optimism, resilience, and self-efficacy—on comprehensive mental health, defined by the dual criteria of the absence of psychopathological symptoms and the presence of positive functioning. The participants of the study included 429 (65.5% female) Turkish adolescents, ranging in age from 13 to 18 years ( M = 16.17 ± 0.83), and completed self-report measures of psychological capital, mental health, and well-being. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that hope and optimism showed significant effects on internalizing problems, externalizing problems, perceived stress, emotional well-being, social well-being, and psychological well-being, even after accounting for the influence of age and gender. Additionally, resilience and self-efficacy demonstrated significant effects on psychological well-being. These results suggest the important role of psychological capital in enhancing psychological functioning and provide further evidence of its impact on the mental health and well-being of adolescents.

The study was conducted using the descriptive-correlational method. Employing random sampling and Slovin's formula, a total of 365 undergraduate students of SPAMAST were the subjects of the study. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the socio-demographic profile, level of mental health, and academic performance of the students. Spearman correlation was utilized to investigate the relationship between the variables. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) generated the structural model that best fits mental health and academic performance. Results revealed that the respondents have positive mental health and satisfactory academic performance. Through correlational analysis, results showed that emotional, social, and psychological well-being have no significant relationship to academic performance. Further, a structural equation model that best fits mental health and academic performance revealed that social and psychological well-being positively influences academic performance. In contrast, emotional well-being has a negative influence. Moreover, it was revealed that emotional well-being was highly correlated with social and psychological well-being. At the same time, social well-being is highly correlated with psychological well-being. Hence, cultivating any of these factors will significantly enhance the other factors. The obtained best-fit model can explain 28% of the data being considered for the study.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” (1). This definition, while representing a substantial progress with respect to moving away from the conceptualization of mental health as a state of absence of mental illness, raises several concerns and lends itself to potential misunderstandings when it identifies positive feelings and positive functioning as key factors for mental health. In fact, regarding well-being as a key aspect of mental health is difficult to reconcile with the many challenging life situations in which well-being may even be unhealthy: most people would consider as mentally unhealthy an individual experiencing a state of well-being while killing several persons during a war action, and would regard as healthy a person feeling desperate after being fired from his/her job in a situation in which occupational opportunities are scarce. People in good mental health are often sad, unwell, angry or unhappy, and this is part of a fully lived life for a human being. In spite of this, mental health has been often conceptualized as a purely positive affect, marked by feelings of happiness and sense of mastery over the environment (2–4). Concepts used in several papers on mental health include both key aspects of the WHO definition, i.e. positive emotions and positive functioning. Keyes (5,6) identifies three components of mental health: emotional well-being, psychological well-being and social well-being. Emotional well-being includes happiness, interest in life, and satisfaction; psychological well-being includes liking most parts of one's own personality, being good at managing the responsibilities of daily life, having good relationships with others, and being satisfied with one's own life; social well-being refers to positive functioning and involves having something to contribute to society (social contribution), feeling part of a community (social integration), believing that society is becoming a better place for all people (social actualization), and that the way society works makes sense to them (social coherence). However, such a perspective of mental health, influenced by hedonic and eudaimonic traditions, which champion positive emotions and excellence in functioning, respectively (7), risks excluding most adolescents, many of whom are somewhat shy, those who fight against perceived injustice and inequalities or are discouraged from doing so after years of useless efforts, as well as migrants and minorities experiencing rejection and discrimination. The concept of positive functioning is also translated by several definitions and theories about mental health into the ability to work productively (1,8), and may lead to the wrong conclusion that an individual at an age or in a physical condition preventing her/him from working productively is not by definition in good mental health. Working productively and fruitfully is often not possible for contextual reasons (e.g., for migrants or for discriminated people), which may prevent people from contributing to their community. Jahoda (9) subdivided mental health into three domains: self-realization, in that individuals are able to fully exploit their potential; sense of mastery over the environment; and sense of autonomy, i.e. ability to identify, confront, and solve problems. Murphy (10) argued that these ideas were laden with cultural values considered important by North Americans. However, even for a North American person, it is hard to imagine, for example, that a mentally healthy human being in the hands of terrorists, under the threat of beheading, can experience a sense of happiness and mastery over the environment. The definition of mental health is clearly influenced by the culture that defines it. However, as also advocated by Vaillant (11), common sense should prevail and certain elements that have a universal importance for mental health might be identified. For example, in spite of cultural differences in eating habits, the acknowledgement of the importance of vitamins and the four basic food groups is universal.

The prevalence of mental health problems is high, and they have a wide-ranging and deleterious effect on many sectors in society. As well as the impact on individuals and families, mental health problems in the workplace negatively affect productivity. One of the factors that may exacerbate the impact of mental health problems is a lack of 'mental health literacy' in the general population. This has been defined as 'knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders, which aid their recognition, management, or prevention'. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a brief training programme developed in Australia in 2000; its aim is to improve mental health literacy and teach mental health first aid strategies. The course has been adapted for various contexts, but essentially covers the symptoms of various mental health disorders, along with associated mental health crisis situations. The programmes also teach trainees how to provide immediate help to people experiencing mental health difficulties, as well as how to signpost to professional services. It is theorised that improved knowledge will encourage the trainees to provide support, and encourage people to actively seek help, thereby leading to improvements in mental health. This review focuses on the effects of MHFA on the mental health and mental well-being of individuals and communities in which MHFA training has been provided. We also examine the impact on mental health literacy. This information is essential for decision-makers considering the role of MHFA training in their organisations. To examine mental health and well-being, mental health service usage, and adverse effects of MHFA training on individuals in the communities in which MHFA training is delivered. We developed a sensitive search strategy to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of MHFA training. This approach used bibliographic databases searching, using a search strategy developed for Ovid MEDLINE (1946 -), and translated across to Ovid Embase (1974 -), Ovid PsycINFO (1967 -), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and the Cochrane Common Mental Disorders Group's Specialised Register (CCMDCTR). We also searched online clinical trial registries (ClinicalTrials.gov and WHO ICTRP), grey literature and reference lists of included studies, and contacted researchers in the field to identify additional and ongoing studies. Searches are current to 13th June 2023. We included RCTs and cluster-RCTs comparing any type of MHFA-trademarked course to no intervention, active or attention control (such as first aid courses), waiting list control, or alternative mental health literacy interventions. Participants were individuals in the communities in which MHFA training is delivered and MHFA trainees. Primary outcomes included mental health and well-being of individuals, mental health service usage and adverse effects of MHFA training. Secondary outcomes related to individuals, MHFA trainees, and communities or organisations in which MHFA training has been delivered DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used standard Cochrane methods. We analysed categorical outcomes as risk ratios (RRs) and odds ratios (ORs), and continuous outcomes as mean differences (MDs) or standardised mean differences (SMDs), with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We pooled data using a random-effects model. Two review authors independently assessed the key results using the Risk of Bias 2 tool and applied the GRADE criteria to assess the certainty of evidence MAIN RESULTS: Twenty-one studies involving a total of 22,604 participants were included in the review. Fifteen studies compared MHFA training with no intervention/waiting list, two studies compared MHFA training with an alternative mental health literacy intervention, and four studies compared MHFA training with an active or an attention control intervention. Our primary time point was between six and 12 months. When MHFA training was compared with no intervention, it may have little to no effect on the mental health of individuals at six to 12 months, but the evidence is very uncertain (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.61 to 1.28; 3 studies; 3939 participants). We judged all the results that contributed to this outcome as being at high risk of bias. No study measured mental health service usage at six to 12 months. We did not find published data on adverse effects. Only one study with usable data compared MHFA training with an alternative mental health literacy intervention. The study did not measure outcomes in individuals in the community. It also did not measure outcomes at our primary time point of six to 12 months. Four studies with usable data compared MHFA training to an active or attention control. None of the studies measured outcomes at our primary time point of six to 12 months. We cannot draw conclusions about the effects of MHFA training on our primary outcomes due to the lack of good quality evidence. This is the case whether it is compared to no intervention, to an alternative mental health literacy intervention, or to an active control. Studies are at high risk of bias and often not sufficiently large to be able to detect differences.

Positive mental health is increasingly recognized as an important focus for public health policies and programs. In Canada, the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) was identified as a promising measure to include on population surveys to measure positive mental health. It proposes to measure a three-factor model of positive mental health including emotional, social and psychological well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the MHC-SF is an adequate measure of positive mental health for Canadian adults. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using data from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)-Mental Health Component (CCHS-MH), and cross-validated the model using data from the CCHS 2011-2012 annual cycle. We examined criterion-related validity through correlations of MHC-SF subscale scores with positively and negatively associated concepts (e.g. life satisfaction and psychological distress, respectively). We confirmed the validity of the three-factor model of emotional, social and psychological well-being through CFA on two independent samples, once four correlated errors between items on the social well-being scale were added. We observed significant correlations in the anticipated direction between emotional, psychological and social well-being scores and related concepts. Cronbach's alpha for both emotional and psychological well-being subscales was 0.82; for social well-being it was 0.77. Our study suggests that the MHC-SF measures a three-factor model of positive mental health in the Canadian population. However, caution is warranted when using the social well-being scale, which did not function as well as the other factors, as evidenced by the need to add several correlated error terms to obtain adequate model fit, a higher level of missing data on these questions and weaker correlations with related constructs. Social well-being is important in a comprehensive measure of positive mental health, and further research is recommended.

This chapter provides a critical analysis on the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of individuals through extensive integrative literature review and authors’ findings on mental health and COVID-19 pandemic. Literature shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of many individuals negatively. As a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals were left with mental health issues to battle with. Many studies have been conducted on COVID-19 and mental health. However, there are quite a few studies that have rigorously focused on the mental health of individuals post-the-COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need for studies on the mental health of individuals post-the-COVID-19 pandemic to inform policies and programmes that will be helpful for mitigating natural disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic. There is also a need for continued support services such as counselling for individuals who have experienced mental health issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental health is an integral component of overall health and well-being, encompassing emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences cognition, perception, and behavior, and it determines how individuals handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is essential at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. The primary components of mental health include emotional well-being and psychological well-being. Emotional well-being refers to managing and expressing emotions effectively. It encompasses happiness, life satisfaction, and the ability to experience a range of emotions in a balanced manner. Whereas psychological well-being involves self-acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, environmental mastery, autonomy, and other components. This research study examines the effectiveness of psychoeducation on the mental health status of students pursuing non-medical professional courses in colleges situated in Sangli city. The study aimed to evaluate the mental health levels of students enrolled in non-medical professional programsbefore and after receiving psychoeducationand compare these levels after the psychoeducational intervention. This study employed a pre-experimental pre-test and post-test research design. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample from the population, and 60 student participantsof non-medicalcourses were included in this study. A pre-test was conducted followed by a psychoeducation session. A post-test was conducted after seven days to assess the effectiveness of psychoeducation sessions. Evaluations were included based on a standardized Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) scale. The institutional ethical committee approved the study, and all guidelines, including consent and confidentiality, were strictly followed throughout the research. Results: The pre-test mean score was 33.55 with a standard deviation of 11.3726, while the post-test mean score increased to 57.93 with a standard deviation of 7.0153. The p-value of 0.00001, significantly lower than the 0.05 threshold, indicated a highly significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores. This suggested that the intervention had a substantial positive effect on the participants, with the results showing clear improvement in the measured variable. The findings' significance underscored the intervention's effectiveness in achieving meaningful changes in the participants' mental health status. The results of the study indicate a statistically significant difference, with a p-value of 0.00001 at a 5% significance level. This supports the acceptance of the alternative hypothesis, demonstrating that there is a notable difference between the pre-test and post-test mean scores of mental health following the provision of psychoeducation to non-medical students. These findings suggest that psychoeducation has a meaningful positive impact, leading to significant improvement in the mental health of non-medical studentsin the post-test. Overall, this highlights the effectiveness of psychoeducation in enhancing the mental health status of students pursuing non-medical courses.

Loneliness is a growing mental health challenge among youth specially who are residing in urban areas. Factors that might help them combat loneliness need to be investigated. This study investigates the impact of meaning in life on loneliness, thriving, and well-being. A cross-sectional design was employed, with data collected from 328 urban youth aged 18-30 via an online survey. The survey included scales to measure presence of meaning, search for meaning, loneliness, thriving, and social, psychological, and emotional well-being. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the relationships between these variables. Presence of meaning was significantly positively associated with loneliness and thriving. While search for meaning had no association with loneliness but was significantly positively associated with thriving. Loneliness was significantly negatively associated with social, emotional, and psychological well-being. Thriving was significantly positively associated with social, emotional, and psychological well-being. The findings suggest that cultivating a sense of meaning in life is crucial for reducing loneliness and promoting well-being among urban youth. Educational institutions and mental health agencies should develop programs that help individuals find and pursue meaningful activities to foster thriving. Future research should explore these dynamics in various cultural contexts and utilize longitudinal designs to confirm causality.