What Indicates Your Life is Meaningful? A New Measure for the Indicators of Meaning in Life (3IML)

Abstract

A new scale for the measurement of indicators of meaning in life—3IML—was developed and suggested as part of this work. We adapted the perspective of Heintzelman and King (Am Psychol 69(6):561–574, 2014b), according to which indicators for the perception of meaning in life are (a) sense: the feeling that the world around us is coherent and makes sense; (b) spirit: positive affect and good mood; and (c) social relatedness: relationships and connection with others. All the indicators are based on previous empirical evidence. In four large-scale studies with 1087 participants overall, we tested and verified the 3IML as a reliable and structurally sound scale. In Study 1, we verified the factorial validity of the proposed scale using exploratory factor analysis. In Study 2, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling. In Study 3, we tested the nomological network validity against an existing self-report scale of perceived meaning in life and some of its known consequences (increase in optimism, decrease in depression). In Study 4, we established incremental validity of the 3IML scale. Although defining or measuring meaning in life is not easy, the suggested approach to measuring indicators of meaning does not rely on participants' definitions of meaning in life. This approach offers a short, multidimensional measure that conceptualizes meaning in life as lying at the confluence of sense, spirit, and social relatedness.