Adults' Meaning in Life

Abstract

The present study, by using 96 subjects ranging in age from 30 to 80 yr., set out to extend knowledge about meaning in life content areas of college students to the entire adult life span. The subjects were asked to write about, rank in order, and give an example of each of the three strongest meanings in their life. High interrater reliability (91% agreement) was achieved in categorizing the essays on meaning. Only 3% reported no meaning. The category of Relationships was most often reported followed by Belief, Health, Growth, Life Work, Service, and Understanding. The accompanying revisions, as well as suggested modifications, appear to be appropriate for describing categories of meaning across the adult life span.