Week 1: Meaning
Year Author Titel Overall information Extra
2013 Fave AD, Brdar I, Sources and motives for personal 1. Family (39.9%)
Wissing MP, meaning in adulthood 2. Work (15.3%)
Vella-Brodrick 3. Relations (10.5%)
DA 4. Health (8.9%)
2016 George & Park Meaning in life - Purpose: “motivated by valued life goals” and involves “a sense of engagement with life” in which
individuals feel “pulled and directed toward their goals”
- Comprehension: “one’s life makes sense, things seem clear in one’s life, things in one’s life fit together
well, and things are as they ought to be”
- Mattering: “their existence is of significance, importance, and value to the world”
2007 Wolf Meaning in life and why it matters - “Loving something worthy of love, and being able to engage with it in some positive way”
- = Caring for/passion (subjective) and positive engagement with something larger than oneself
(“objective”)
1990 Sheldon & Elliot Theory I: Access to reward:
- Goal progress Positive emotion
1999 Russel & Barret Theory I: Access to reward:
- Inhibitory relation between positive and negative emotion
1947 Jung Theory II: Perspective:
- “The greatest and most important problems of life...can never be solved, but only outgrown...some higher
or wider interest arose on the person's horizon, and through this widening of view, the insoluble problem
lost its urgency.”
1988 Cox & Klinger Theory II: Perspective:
- “Trivialization” through contrast
o Appetitive incentives such as alcohol
1957 Festinger Theory II: Perspective:
- “Trivialization” through contrast:
o Threats
1995, Ryff & Keyes More meaning correlated with: - Meta-analysis that
2005, Mascaro & Rosen - Less depression (Ryff & Keyes, 1995) therapies including
2006, Palfai et al. - Less anxiety (Mascaro & Rosen, 2005) meaning element =
2015 Vos et al. - Less heavy alcohol use + problems (Palfai et al., 2006) less depression and
anxiety (d = .47)
(Vos et al., 2015).
- Promising, but...
mostly cross-
sectional and little
work on
mechanisms.
2003 Fairburn et al. Cognitive behavior therapy for eating “Why aren’t more people getting better?”
disorders: a ‘transdiagnostic’ theory - “...it is our view that the entire strategy for addressing the over-evaluation of eating, shape and weight...
and treatment needs to be reformulated, and that greater emphasis needs to be placed on it.”
2021 van Doornik et al. Low satisfaction with normative life Hypothesis:
domains in adolescents with anorexia - H1: Compared to control, AN participants will have less satisfaction with common sources of meaning
nervosa - H2: AN symptoms will be inversely related with satisfaction with common sources of meaning
, Method:
- Participants: 69 patients with AN and 69 age-matched control
o 15.5 yrs (SD=1.7); all female
o Group differences in BMI
- AN symptoms: Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire
o Items: e.g., ‘Have you been deliberately trying to limit the amount of food you eat to influence
your shape or weight (whether or not you have succeeded)?
- Meaning sources: Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale
o Items: Family, Friendships, School, Self, Living environment, Life in general (1 = very
dissatisfied to 5 =very satisfied)
Results:
- H1 outcomes:
o Control = more satisfaction
o AN = less satisfaction
Most differences in: school, self, living environment and life in general
- H2 outcomes:
o Control + AN = inverse correlation satisfaction and EDE-Q
o AN = inverse relation satisfaction and EDE-Q (connected with life)
2023 Van Doornik et al. The effects of a meaning-centered 6 session intervention; measurement before and after
intervention on meaning in life and - 1 on 1 during corona online
eating disorder symptoms in
undergraduate women with high
Help people think about what meaning is
weight and shape concerns: A
- What are the obstacles to help define meaning of life
randomized controlled trial. Behavior
Therapy.
Results:
- Reducing in:
o Eating disorder symptoms
o Stress=
o Anxiety
o Depression
- Increasing in:
o Meaning
o Well-being
o Connected with the world
Many of the effects remained after the follow up > 1 month
- Comprehension
- Mattering
- Overall, less depression, anxiety and stress
- More well-being
- More meaning in life
2019 Ostafin & Feyel Role of meaning in alcohol Trivialization perspective suggests meaning Less temptation of alcohol
motivation - H: A meaning intervention will reduce the incentive salience of alcohol cues
, Design:
- 69 undergrad students who regularly drink (14.8 drinks/week; SD=10)
- Meaning condition
- Control condition
- Measure of alcohol salience: Modified alcohol stroop task (Cox et al., 1999)
Results:
- Motivational salience of alcohol more errors than control group
- Reaction time no difference
- Partial support for the possibility that meaning intervention can lead to less incentive salience for alcohol
stimuli
2015 Gray & The future as a potential mechanism Meaning and alcohol
MacKillop - Delayed discounting
- Would you rather have 100 euro’s now or in a year?
- Future is as important as the present
- Think about goals can help you to do more interesting things that help you build a better foundation for
meaning
- Uncertainty I need to survive today (not think to far ahead in the future)
In Ostafin, May, Does meaning help protect against Results
prep Ekstein addiction because orients individuals - More meaning in life less problems with al
toward the future? - Alcohol dyscontrol is not related with positive affect
o Having more a happy life, does not have to help with psychological disorder
- Although rational thinking is useful, it is not the only thing that is important
- Meaning in life could be important because it helps the person to distract from the immediate
environment to something broader
2008 Dobson et al. Compared behavioral activation (intervention)
- Placebo
- Continued medication
Results
- Cognitive therapy (CT) and behavioral activation (BA) were doing both just as good, so you don’t always
have to do hard things, which is CT.
2009 Mazzucchelli et Behavioral activation treatments for - They found that BA is useful.
al. depression in adults: a meta-analysis - No differences between CT and BA.
and review - Large effect size (is good)
1999 Sheldon & Elliot Goal striving, need satisfaction, and - The self-concordance model: your perusing goals that are autonomous vs controlled The self-concordance
longitudinal well-being: The self- - Over the course of a year model
concordance model - Do the goals still have meaning?
- The extent to which your goal was autonomous vs controlled, those goals that you attained brought more
well-being, less negative effect etc. it matters!
2002 Ong and Phinney Personal goals and depression among - Self-concordance and depression in second generation depression
Vietnamese American and European - Children were caught between their parents’ goals and theirs
American young adults: a mediational - They found that second generations children had more depression, mediated by goals self-concordance,
analysis goals were more controlled which contributed to why they had more depression.
2020 Ostafin and Meaning in life and resilience to Background: Flood 2011 Does meaning prevent you
Proulx stressors - 1997 there was also a flood, looking at how people react to the flood against anxiety?
Year Author Titel Overall information Extra
2013 Fave AD, Brdar I, Sources and motives for personal 1. Family (39.9%)
Wissing MP, meaning in adulthood 2. Work (15.3%)
Vella-Brodrick 3. Relations (10.5%)
DA 4. Health (8.9%)
2016 George & Park Meaning in life - Purpose: “motivated by valued life goals” and involves “a sense of engagement with life” in which
individuals feel “pulled and directed toward their goals”
- Comprehension: “one’s life makes sense, things seem clear in one’s life, things in one’s life fit together
well, and things are as they ought to be”
- Mattering: “their existence is of significance, importance, and value to the world”
2007 Wolf Meaning in life and why it matters - “Loving something worthy of love, and being able to engage with it in some positive way”
- = Caring for/passion (subjective) and positive engagement with something larger than oneself
(“objective”)
1990 Sheldon & Elliot Theory I: Access to reward:
- Goal progress Positive emotion
1999 Russel & Barret Theory I: Access to reward:
- Inhibitory relation between positive and negative emotion
1947 Jung Theory II: Perspective:
- “The greatest and most important problems of life...can never be solved, but only outgrown...some higher
or wider interest arose on the person's horizon, and through this widening of view, the insoluble problem
lost its urgency.”
1988 Cox & Klinger Theory II: Perspective:
- “Trivialization” through contrast
o Appetitive incentives such as alcohol
1957 Festinger Theory II: Perspective:
- “Trivialization” through contrast:
o Threats
1995, Ryff & Keyes More meaning correlated with: - Meta-analysis that
2005, Mascaro & Rosen - Less depression (Ryff & Keyes, 1995) therapies including
2006, Palfai et al. - Less anxiety (Mascaro & Rosen, 2005) meaning element =
2015 Vos et al. - Less heavy alcohol use + problems (Palfai et al., 2006) less depression and
anxiety (d = .47)
(Vos et al., 2015).
- Promising, but...
mostly cross-
sectional and little
work on
mechanisms.
2003 Fairburn et al. Cognitive behavior therapy for eating “Why aren’t more people getting better?”
disorders: a ‘transdiagnostic’ theory - “...it is our view that the entire strategy for addressing the over-evaluation of eating, shape and weight...
and treatment needs to be reformulated, and that greater emphasis needs to be placed on it.”
2021 van Doornik et al. Low satisfaction with normative life Hypothesis:
domains in adolescents with anorexia - H1: Compared to control, AN participants will have less satisfaction with common sources of meaning
nervosa - H2: AN symptoms will be inversely related with satisfaction with common sources of meaning
, Method:
- Participants: 69 patients with AN and 69 age-matched control
o 15.5 yrs (SD=1.7); all female
o Group differences in BMI
- AN symptoms: Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire
o Items: e.g., ‘Have you been deliberately trying to limit the amount of food you eat to influence
your shape or weight (whether or not you have succeeded)?
- Meaning sources: Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale
o Items: Family, Friendships, School, Self, Living environment, Life in general (1 = very
dissatisfied to 5 =very satisfied)
Results:
- H1 outcomes:
o Control = more satisfaction
o AN = less satisfaction
Most differences in: school, self, living environment and life in general
- H2 outcomes:
o Control + AN = inverse correlation satisfaction and EDE-Q
o AN = inverse relation satisfaction and EDE-Q (connected with life)
2023 Van Doornik et al. The effects of a meaning-centered 6 session intervention; measurement before and after
intervention on meaning in life and - 1 on 1 during corona online
eating disorder symptoms in
undergraduate women with high
Help people think about what meaning is
weight and shape concerns: A
- What are the obstacles to help define meaning of life
randomized controlled trial. Behavior
Therapy.
Results:
- Reducing in:
o Eating disorder symptoms
o Stress=
o Anxiety
o Depression
- Increasing in:
o Meaning
o Well-being
o Connected with the world
Many of the effects remained after the follow up > 1 month
- Comprehension
- Mattering
- Overall, less depression, anxiety and stress
- More well-being
- More meaning in life
2019 Ostafin & Feyel Role of meaning in alcohol Trivialization perspective suggests meaning Less temptation of alcohol
motivation - H: A meaning intervention will reduce the incentive salience of alcohol cues
, Design:
- 69 undergrad students who regularly drink (14.8 drinks/week; SD=10)
- Meaning condition
- Control condition
- Measure of alcohol salience: Modified alcohol stroop task (Cox et al., 1999)
Results:
- Motivational salience of alcohol more errors than control group
- Reaction time no difference
- Partial support for the possibility that meaning intervention can lead to less incentive salience for alcohol
stimuli
2015 Gray & The future as a potential mechanism Meaning and alcohol
MacKillop - Delayed discounting
- Would you rather have 100 euro’s now or in a year?
- Future is as important as the present
- Think about goals can help you to do more interesting things that help you build a better foundation for
meaning
- Uncertainty I need to survive today (not think to far ahead in the future)
In Ostafin, May, Does meaning help protect against Results
prep Ekstein addiction because orients individuals - More meaning in life less problems with al
toward the future? - Alcohol dyscontrol is not related with positive affect
o Having more a happy life, does not have to help with psychological disorder
- Although rational thinking is useful, it is not the only thing that is important
- Meaning in life could be important because it helps the person to distract from the immediate
environment to something broader
2008 Dobson et al. Compared behavioral activation (intervention)
- Placebo
- Continued medication
Results
- Cognitive therapy (CT) and behavioral activation (BA) were doing both just as good, so you don’t always
have to do hard things, which is CT.
2009 Mazzucchelli et Behavioral activation treatments for - They found that BA is useful.
al. depression in adults: a meta-analysis - No differences between CT and BA.
and review - Large effect size (is good)
1999 Sheldon & Elliot Goal striving, need satisfaction, and - The self-concordance model: your perusing goals that are autonomous vs controlled The self-concordance
longitudinal well-being: The self- - Over the course of a year model
concordance model - Do the goals still have meaning?
- The extent to which your goal was autonomous vs controlled, those goals that you attained brought more
well-being, less negative effect etc. it matters!
2002 Ong and Phinney Personal goals and depression among - Self-concordance and depression in second generation depression
Vietnamese American and European - Children were caught between their parents’ goals and theirs
American young adults: a mediational - They found that second generations children had more depression, mediated by goals self-concordance,
analysis goals were more controlled which contributed to why they had more depression.
2020 Ostafin and Meaning in life and resilience to Background: Flood 2011 Does meaning prevent you
Proulx stressors - 1997 there was also a flood, looking at how people react to the flood against anxiety?
