Meaning Of Life Research Articles

Reflections on a Career in Pediatric Neuropathology, with a Note of Gratitude.

I am honored to be asked by the journal to write this personal essay about my career in pediatric neuropathology-a life of immense satisfaction, meaning, and fulfillment. My motivation to enter this discipline is highlighted, as is my decision to perform brain research in the sudden infant death syndrome, the leading cause of postneonatal infant mortality in the United States today. I also touch upon collaborations, mentoring, and experiences along the way-especially with the light microscope. I close with thoughts about the future of the discipline from my perspective as a lifelong devotee.

Increasing psychological flexibility is associated with positive therapy outcomes following a transdiagnostic ACT treatment.

Increasing psychological flexibility is considered an important mechanism of change in psychotherapy across diagnoses. In particular, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) primarily aims at increasing psychological flexibility in order to live a more fulfilling and meaningful life. The purpose of this study is to examine 1) how psychological flexibility changes during an ACT-based treatment in a transdiagnostic day hospital and 2) how this change is related to changes in symptomatology, quality of life, and general level of functioning. 90 patients of a psychiatric day hospital participated in the study. Psychological flexibility, symptomatology, and quality of life were assessed at three measurement time points (admission, discharge, and 3-month follow-up). The level of functioning was assessed at admission and discharge. Differences in psychological flexibility were tested via two-sided paired samples t-tests. Correlations of residualized change scores were calculated to detect associations between changes in psychological flexibility and other outcomes. Psychological flexibility increased significantly from pre-treatment to post-treatment (d = .43, p <.001) and from pre-treatment to follow-up (d = .54, p <.001). This change was significantly correlated to a decrease in symptomatology (r = .60-.83, p <.001) and an increase in most dimensions of quality of life (r = -.43 - -.75, p <.001) and general level of functioning (r =-.34, p = .003). This study adds further evidence for psychological flexibility as a transdiagnostic process variable of successful psychotherapy. Limitations are discussed.

Meaningful life changes following hearing aid use: a qualitative user perspective

Objective This study aimed to explore meaningful life changes due to hearing aid use in adult users. Design A cross-sectional survey design was used with open-ended questions analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis. Study Sample US-based adult hearing aid users (n = 653) from the Hearing Tracker website community and Lexie Hearing database. Results Participants had a mean age of 65.4 years (13.6 SD), including 61.2% males, 38.3% females (0.5% other). Analysis of 2122 meaning units from responses identified two broad domains: 'meaningful benefits’ (n = 1709; 80.5%) and 'remaining difficulties’ (n = 413; 19.5%). The meaningful benefits domain included five categories (27 sub-categories): (a) psychosocial benefits, (b) improvements in hearing, (c) personal benefits, (d) hearing aid features and connectivity, and (e) situational benefits. Participants reported enhanced relationships and improved occupational functioning as key benefits. The remaining difficulties domain contained four categories (25 sub-categories): (a) hearing aid limitations, (b) hearing and communication issues, (c) situational difficulties, and (d) personal issues. Notable difficulties included hearing aid design issues and challenges in noisy environments. Conclusion Hearing aid users reported diverse benefits and persistent challenges related to device use, illustrating the complexity of their lived experiences. These findings can inform empathetic, effective rehabilitation strategies and user-centric hearing aid technologies.

Mindfulness Meditation and the Meaning of Life

Throughout the history of philosophy, ethics has often been a source of guidance on how to live a meaningful life. Accordingly, when the ethical foundations of mindfulness are considered, an important question arises concerning the role of meditation in providing meaning. The present article proposes a new theoretical route for understanding the links between mindfulness meditation and meaningfulness by employing the terminology of Susan Wolf’s contemporary philosophical account of a meaningful life. It opens by examining the question of what kinds of life-meanings are made available by Buddhist doctrine, considering the two alternatives of a cosmic, human-independent meaning of life versus the subjective meanings that humans give to their individual lives. After surveying current psychological theories that aim to explain the correlation between mindfulness as a trait and meaning in life, all of which see mindfulness as a mediating factor in the production of meaning, I argue that Wolf’s framework offers a promising theoretical basis for clarifying the relationship between mindfulness and meaning in that it explains why mindfulness has a direct bearing on meaning in life. I then show that mindfulness meditation, as understood in Buddhism, can respond to some of the philosophical worries that arise from Wolf’s theory, specifically her concern with the standards for securing the objective value of meaningful activities and projects. My claim is that mindfulness meditation is representative of a broader class of activities that are non-subjectively valuable insofar as they are required for any exploration of objective meaning or standards of values, as well as for engagement in objectively valuable projects and activities.

“A Satire on What It Is to Be a Human Being”: A Kierkegaardian Critique of Neoliberal Subjectivity

Abstract Neoliberalism has come to be understood not only as an economic system, but as a mode of existence that understands the self as primarily the bearer of human capital. This paper contrasts the neoliberal ideal of selfhood with Kierkegaard’s notion of the self as developed in The Sickness unto Death. Using Kierkegaard’s typology of despair as an analytical framework, I argue that the neoliberal subject displays an impoverished grasp of the various elements that, for Kierkegaard, are constitutive of the self, and shows serious deficiencies in its understanding of what it means to live a meaningful life.

Amelioration of a liturgical ethos mindful of anamnesis and its convergence with environmental justice

This article deals with the problematic praxis of life in the Anthropocene amidst the urgent calls for environmental justice. Normally, people are confused and misled by this concept due to a political ringtone. However, the article argues that justice or righteousness should always be integral to a faith community’s outlook on life. Among numerous other ministry manifestations, liturgical praxeology offers unique opportunities to establish a deep-rooted liturgical ethos. Contemplation about the harmful effects of injustices on a meaningful life provides the opportunity to reconsider how liturgy can enhance or ameliorate a liturgical ethos grounded in moral principles. The concept of ethos touches on the persuasive or performative essence of liturgical enactment. If this is the case, surely a hunger for destruction, wars, and devastating acts that limit opportunities for a liveable life in the environment should be considered essential. The liturgical ethos must remind people to remember the precious memories of what should be done regarding righteousness (justice) and wardship. In laying the foundation for a deep-rooted ethos, responsibility takes centre stage. Faith communities, by emphasizing this sense of responsibility, can contribute towards a renewed hunger for justice and righteousness in their environments. The research question guiding this exploration is articulated as follows: How can liturgical ethos, with explicit reference to anamnesis and its convergence with the gravity of environmental justice, contribute to fostering responsibility for the environment among participants of the liturgy? This question is addressed through a qualitative literature study. Browning (1996:34), for example, is interested in practical wisdom’s (phronesis) purpose of understanding human action and defines a research activity as a process that starts with a description and then moves to the endeavour of systemization. Eventually, strategizing perspectives will offer liturgical perspectives on a liturgical ethos or praxeology that could promote moral responsibility among the liturgy participants.

Long-term transformational effects of near-death experiences

The purpose of this study was to deepen our understanding of the phenomenon of long-term transformational effects of near-death experiences (NDEs). Methods: Participants included 834 individuals who had experienced NDEs. We compared their responses with those of 42 individuals who had faced life-threatening situations (LTEs) without experiencing NDEs, aiming to discern whether transformations could be attributed solely to the proximity to death. We employed chi-square statistics to assess differences in aftereffects reported by the NDE and LTE-only groups. We also conducted a thematic analysis of the participants’ narratives to capture a more detailed account of the transformations experienced. Results: Our central finding reveals a significant transformation in values and spiritual attitudes among participants following their NDEs, as compared to individuals who were faced with life-threatening situations without an NDE. Key transformations include an enhanced belief in divinity and in the afterlife, a decreased fear of death, and increased levels of compassion. Participants also reported a stronger belief in the meaningfulness of life, and a profound shift in life priorities and values, emphasizing the increased importance of their spiritual or religious lives. Conclusions: The results support the notion that NDEs lead to a profound spiritual awakening and a reorientation towards life distinct from changes following LTEs without NDEs.

Differing worldviews: The politics of happiness, meaning, and psychological richness.

Conservative ideology, broadly speaking, has been widely linked to greater happiness and meaning in life. Is that true of all forms of a good life? We examined whether a psychologically rich life is associated with political orientation, system justification, and Protestant work ethic, independent of two other traditional forms of a good life: a happy life and a meaningful life. Participants completed a questionnaire that assessed conservative worldviews and three aspects of well-being (N = 583 in Study 1; N = 348 in Study 2; N = 436 in Study 3; N = 1,217 in Study 4; N = 2,176 in Study 5; N = 516 in Study 6). Happiness was associated with political conservatism and system justification, and meaning in life was associated with Protestant work ethic. In contrast, zero-order correlations showed that psychological richness was not associated with conservative worldviews. However, when happiness and meaning in life were included in multiple regression models, the nature of the association shifted: Psychological richness was consistently inversely associated with system justification and on average less political conservatism, suggesting that happiness and meaning in life were suppressor variables. These findings suggest that happiness and meaning in life are associated with conservative ideology, whereas psychological richness is not.

Building on Recovery: Embracing Community Inclusion in Mental Health Policies and Services.

Recovery is real and has had a transformative impact on mental health policies and services, including shifting the focus from chronicity and symptom management to the realization that individuals with mental health issues can lead meaningful lives. However, recovery has been defined, described, understood, and measured in a wide variety of ways that may account for misuses and abuses in its application and possible stagnation in its impact. It is argued that the mental health field must now build upon the strong foundations of recovery by integrating a well-established rights-oriented framework. While recovery emphasizes personal growth and hope, a rights-based perspective underscores inherent dignity, autonomy, and opportunities for acceptance and embrace in engaging in valued social roles. The addition of a rights-based framework - community inclusion, to conversations involving recovery, is aligned with the origins of recovery and how it is commonly understood, and also connects the mental health field to the dramatic positive impacts that have emerged from the longstanding centrality of this concept in the broader disability community.

An Empowerment-Based Physical Activity Intervention for Older People with Advanced Age-Related Macular Degeneration: An Exploratory Qualitative Case Study Design.

Background: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of incurable visual impairment and impacts daily life. There are benefits of physical activity for people who are affected with AMD; however, living with AMD is associated with lower levels of physical activity and social isolation. The aim of this study was to explore how older people with AMD in Sweden experienced participation in a 6-month empowerment-based physical activity intervention and how it influenced their physical abilities. Methods: The participants were nine individuals with AMD aged 70-87 years. The intervention comprised physical and social activities in a group twice a week and individual health coaching on three occasions. The study was based on an exploratory qualitative case study design. Results: The findings showed two themes: created meaningfulness in life and creative and playful ways to develop body movements. The findings also showed improved muscle strength after the intervention. Conclusions: The findings showed that participants had increased social connectedness, improved physical self-efficacy and physical ability, as well as improved muscle strength. The empowerment process of the intervention was appreciated by the participants and challenged them to participate in physical activity offered by the municipality for older individuals.

How neoliberal individualism led the Disability Royal Commission astray

People with intellectual disabilities can be abused in all settings: homes, communities, and services. Reducing this abuse requires attention be paid to people who are engaged with people with intellectual disabilities, who were largely overlooked by a neoliberal inquiry focused on individuals. Displacing neoliberalism has been further impeded by its recent combination with social media, which has engendered “cultural homogenisation”: the further spread and sustenance of the same ideas. This article aims to offer a fundamental critique of the Disability Royal Commission’s (the Commission) inquiry by revealing the way neoliberal ideology has shaped its recommendations; and to identify positive alternatives. Arguments: (1) Neoliberal individualism is a powerful but invisible doctrine. Its focus on choice and autonomy has generated concern to provide accessible information, irrespective of its feasibility; and concern to eliminate restrictive practices, irrespective of equally important needs of staff and parents. (2) “Datafication” intended to monitor and improve otherwise unregulated markets is expensive, ineffective, and impedes engagement. (3) The only meaningful adult life envisaged is paid work, despite a meagre and shrinking number of people with intellectual disabilities obtaining jobs. (4) The limitations of a legal inquiry are identified. (5) Alternatives to the promotion of voice, choice, and work are explored. Exhausted neoliberal ideology led the Commission astray. Rather than continuing to enact neoliberal solutions, two different initiatives that are more likely to disrupt the status quo are proposed: replacing legal intervention with public health approaches to reducing violence in all settings; and developing new “counter-publics” of fun and belonging that connect people and their consociates.

“Take your responsibility”: the politics of green sacrifice for just low-carbon transitions in rural Portugal

The EU has recently taken important climate action, notably through the launching of the European Green Deal. However, EU action has been criticized for its potential to generate a heavy increase in mining of ‘critical minerals’ necessary for renewables technologies, and so create green sacrifice zones both overseas and within Europe. We explore the politics of green sacrifice making through an analysis of green governance practices and opposition to them in a case of a lithium mining conflict in rural northern Portugal. We find that institutional rearrangements attempt to reconfigure lithium mining as a force for sustainability in ways that enable capital accumulation. Such reconfigurations clash with concerns about maintaining a meaningful life in localities where mining would take place, as well as alternative definitions of the logic of the circular economy and of what the proper scales of decision-making for marginalized territories should be. Government and corporate action attempt to resolve these clashes by promoting a discourse of ‘responsibility’, which assigns public institutions the role of convincing communities to accept ‘green’ mining; to corporations the role of exercising corporate social responsibility; and to affected populations the role of subjects whose political action should conform to their consumption habits and help deliver a distinctive ‘European way’ of being responsible in a warming world. We conclude that green sacrifice is essential for maintaining economic growth and a liberal order of governance, delivered through a biopolitics of inclusion that exists side-by-side with attempts at self-constitution. We highlight a contradiction between what such praxis tries to achieve and ways in which some critical constituencies seek to address democracy challenges of just transitions.

The Effect of Dhikr Therapy on Increasing The Meaningfulness of Life in Students at The Satu Amal Indonesia Foundation

This study aims to determine the effect of dhikr therapy on increasing the meaningfulness of life experienced by students who are members of the Satu Amal Indonesia foundation. This study uses a one-group pretest-posttest design method because it can compare conditions before and after being given treatment. With various treatments carried out for 7 days or one week on WhatsApp Group. This study presents the results of the effectiveness test of dhikr therapy on the meaningfulness of life using the "Paired Sample t-Test" method. The results in this study involved 20 participants who showed a significant increase in the meaningfulness of life after undergoing dhikr therapy. Before therapy, participants had a moderate level of meaning in life, while after treatment or therapy, the level of meaning in life increased to high. A strong positive correlation between pretest and posttest indicates a significant relationship. Statistical tests showed a significant difference between pretest and posttest scores, with a p value of less than 0.001, confirming that dhikr therapy had a significant effect on participants' meaningfulness of life. These results illustrate that dhikr therapy can markedly improve an individual's meaningfulness of life.

Can E-Government Influence Well-Being? An Empirical Investigation

ABSTRACT While electronic government (e-government) is conceived as an innovative digital tool to bring economic and social benefits to a country, it remains largely underexplored whether it could help citizens have a meaningful, thriving, and happy life. A country’s development does not just depend on its economic performance or GDP; it is also contingent on the well-being of its citizens. Nevertheless, the literature lacks a theoretical and empirical understanding of the linkage between e-government and well-being. To fill this gap, this cross-country study examines (a) the direct influence of e-government maturity on well-being and (b) the mediating role of corruption perception, education, healthy life expectancy, and inequality in the above relationship. Hypotheses were tested using archival data from 123 countries. The results suggest that a higher level of e-government maturity in a country directly contributes to its well-being and indirectly by influencing corruption perception and healthy life expectancy.

IBD Is Like a Tree: Reflections From Older Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Despite the growing proportion of older adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), their lived experience is not well understood. IBD literature is generally focused on younger adults, and few studies are qualitative. Older adults may report well-being differently than younger adults, so it is important that we learn about their goals and priorities with a chronic disease. The study sought to understand the lived experience of older adults with IBD and explore their perceptions and priorities. We conducted in-depth interviews with patients ≥60 years of age with IBD to evaluate the impact and perception of IBD in the context their overall health and life. We used a hybrid inductive-deductive thematic analysis of our transcripts to identify underlying patterns. We achieved thematic saturation after 22 interviews. We produced 4 major themes: (1) having IBD at an older age, (2) financial ramifications of IBD at an older age, (3) expectations for a meaningful life, and (4) unmet needs. Prominent subthemes included (1) ageism, loss of autonomy, and barriers to healthcare; (2) retirement and insurance issues; (3) redefining quality of life and gratitude; and (4) social isolation and navigating daily life with IBD. Having IBD later in life presents unique challenges. Physicians treating older patients should consider age-sensitive communication, susceptibility to social isolation, and practices for healthy aging in the context of IBD. Patient priorities for further investigation include more representation in the media and educational material tailored for older adults with IBD.

Realization of Values: Stages of Meaningful Living for Hafiz Quran Students

Realization of Values: Stages of Meaningful Living for Hafiz Quran Students

Образ школы сегодня и завтра в контексте системы ценностей российских школьников

The image of the modern and future school in perception of high school students is examined in the context of understanding the system of their values and life views. Empirically the paper is based on the results of the field research undertaken by the author in September-October 2021 among the 9–11 grade students of St. Petersburg schools, followed by further investigation among the same target audience in January-February 2023. New questioning of the students was accompanied by the questioning of teachers, which allows us now not only to analyze the data in dynamics, but also to compare the views of students and teachers. Theoretical background of the research is based on the current sociological and psychological academic discussion about the concepts of happiness and meaningful life. We argue, that during the recent year and a half the image of modern and future school has significantly changed and this change bears the value-oriented character. First, the move from the values of life stability and comfort towards the values of personal and professional growth and achievements has been identified, i.e. from the consumer values to the values of development. Second, high school students demonstrate almost entire indifference towards the values of common good. And, third, the teachers’ perception of the teenagers’ values is significantly different from the reality in two important aspects: firstly, according to the teachers the students are much more oriented on consumer values, than it takes place in fact. And secondly, in the teachers’ perception students prioritize successful learning of curriculum disciplines much less than they actually do. According to teachers’ opinion friendship and communication are much more important to students than studies as such. This in fact may mean the attribution to the students the system of values, spread among the teachers, which causes major difficulties in identifying the optimal combination of teaching and upbringing.

Post-traumatic stress disorders and coping resources of internally displaced persons

The article analyses post-traumatic stress disorders and resources for coping with stress in internally displaced persons. The analysis of literature sources has led to an understanding of the consequences of experiencing forced migration as a state of high intensity stress, which with a high degree of probability entails the development of post-traumatic stress disorders. The author describes a psychosocial situation that is of particular interest due to the complex nature of the impact of stress on the personality of an internally displaced person: their life story often contains, along with the experience of being in a war zone, repeated traumatisation due to living in new places, which sometimes causes no less powerful distress (culture shock, acculturation stress, migrantophobia). When analysing migrants' resources for coping with stress, we should rely on the three-level approach to the structure of human personality, which is established in psychology. The success of migrants' adaptation is correlated with individual characteristics, including gender, ethnic minority, age, neuroticism and extraversion, therefore, the focus on the middle level is designated as cognitive-personal and operationalised through the construct of basic beliefs of the individual, which are generally defined as global, stable ideas of the individual about the world and about himself/herself that influence thinking, emotional states and behaviour; higher - described by the system of meaningful life orientations of a person, which characterises a person as a subject of life-creation, and is an integral systemic characteristic that reflects the actual attitude of a person to a situation, understood as meaningful life orientations of a person.

The impact of State of Surrender on the relationship between engagement in substance use treatment and meaning in life presence: a pilot study.

The current study examined the construct of State of Surrender (SoS)-defined as a willingness to accept, without resistance, what is to come-and investigated SoS as a statistical mediator of the relationship between engagement in substance use treatment and meaning in life (MIL). Using a cross-sectional design, participants were 123 people involved with the legal system participating in a 6-month residential treatment program for substance use. Results showed that measures of treatment engagement, including treatment participation, counselor rapport, and peer support, were all positively associated with SoS scores (R 2s ≥ 21.16). Moreover, while controlling for time spent in treatment, SoS statistically mediated the positive association between aspects of treatment engagement and MIL. State of Surrender may be a targetable process in substance use treatment that aids in recovery by orienting clients toward what they find meaningful in life. Future directions and practical considerations are discussed.

Narrative identity in addictive disorders: a conceptual review.

Narrative identity allows individuals to integrate their personal experiences into a coherent and meaningful life story. Addictive disorders appear to be associated with a disturbed sense of self, reflected in problematic and disorganized self-narratives. In recent literature, a growing body of research has highlighted how narrative approaches can make a dual contribution to the understanding of addiction: on the one hand, by revealing crucial aspects of self structure, and, on the other, by supporting the idea that addiction is a disorder related to unintegrated self-states in which dissociative phenomena and the resulting sense of 'loss of self' are maladaptive strategies for coping with distress. This conceptual review identified the main measures of narrative identity, i.e., narrative coherence and complexity, agency, and emotions, and critically examines 9 quantitative and qualitative studies (out of 18 identified in literature), that have investigated the narrative dimension in people with an addictive disorder in order to provide a synthesis of the relationship between self, narrative and addiction. These studies revealed a difficulty in the organization of narrative identity of people with an addictive disorder, which is reflected in less coherent and less complex autobiographical narratives, in a prevalence of passivity and negative emotions, and in a widespread presence of themes related to a lack of self-efficacy. This review points out important conceptual, methodological and clinical implications encouraging further investigation of narrative dimension in addiction.