Abstract
Literature indicates that globally young people are increasingly experiencing life as hopeless and meaningless.
 
 Opsomming
 Literatuur dui aan dat alhoemeer jong volwassenes hulle lewens as leeg en betekenloos ervaar.
 
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Highlights
IntroductionWhile historically much research has been conducted on the health of individuals in terms of stress and coping (for example, Lazarus & Folkman, 1984:1-464; Strümpfer, 1995:81-87), a more current debate among theorists highlighted the possibility that not enough progress has been made in stress and coping research (Coyne & Racioppo, 2000:655-664; Lazarus, 2000:665673; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000:5-14; Seligman, Steen, Park & Peterson, 2005:410-421; Somerfield & McCrae, 2000:620-625)
AND LITERATURE REVIEWWhile historically much research has been conducted on the health of individuals in terms of stress and coping, a more current debate among theorists highlighted the possibility that not enough progress has been made in stress and coping research (Coyne & Racioppo, 2000:655-664; Lazarus, 2000:665673; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000:5-14; Seligman, Steen, Park & Peterson, 2005:410-421; Somerfield & McCrae, 2000:620-625)
Analysis of variance performed for age, gender, language and direction of study indicated no significant differences in meaning in life, sense of coherence and ability to cope
Summary
While historically much research has been conducted on the health of individuals in terms of stress and coping (for example, Lazarus & Folkman, 1984:1-464; Strümpfer, 1995:81-87), a more current debate among theorists highlighted the possibility that not enough progress has been made in stress and coping research (Coyne & Racioppo, 2000:655-664; Lazarus, 2000:665673; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000:5-14; Seligman, Steen, Park & Peterson, 2005:410-421; Somerfield & McCrae, 2000:620-625) It seems that more research in the field is necessary in order to mediate stress, and that this is especially true for young people, because individuals in late adolescence/young adulthood need to successfully negotiate the transition between childhood and adulthood while being constantly faced with stressors as well as being required to make major life decisions. Certain developmental life stages and stressful events give emphasis to the question of meaning in life for most individuals (Leider, 1997:1-162) This is especially true in the late adolescence/early adulthood life phase, as more and more young people are reportedly experiencing life as hopeless and meaningless (Reivich, Gillham, Chaplin & Seligman, 2005:223-237; Santrock, 2003:1-495). Existential concerns are significant during late adolescence/young adulthood, and young people often experience their lives as less meaningful than older adults (Damon, Menon & Bronk, 2003:119-128; Reker, Peacock & Wong, 1987:44-49; Van Ranst & Marcoen, 1997:877-884)
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