The Mediating Role of Positive and Negative Affect in the Relationship between Meaning in Life and Mental Health
Subject Areas : PsychologyLeila Mohammadi 1 , Mohammad Ali Besharat 2 , Mohammad Reza Rezazade 3 , Masoud Gholamali Lavasani 4
1 - University of Tehran
2 - University of Tehran
3 - University of Tehran
4 - University of Tehran
Keywords: meaning in life, , positive and negative affect, mental health, psychological well-being, psychological distress,
Abstract :
The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of positive and negative affect in the relationship between meaning in life and mental health. The sample consisted of 337 students (153 males and 184 females) from University of Tehran at three levels: BA, MA and PHD. Participants are chosen by available sampling. The students answered the Crumbaugh Maholick (1964) Meaning of Life Questionnaire, Veit and Ware (1983) Mental Health Inventory and Watson et al (1988) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. For analyzing data, we used some indexes such as Frequency, Percent, Standard deviation, Pearson correlation test and for proving the mediating role, we used Pathway analysis. The results showed a significant positive and negative relationship between meaning in life and psychological well-being as well as psychological distress. The Pathway analysis showed that positive and negative affect has mediating role in the relationship between meaning in life and mental health. According to the result, it can be concluded that, attention to meaning in life and improve it in students life lead to increasing positive affect and as a result can influence mental health and decrease expression of negative affect and psychological distress level.
بخشی پور، عباس.، دژکام، محمود. (1384). تحلیل عاملی مقیاس عاطفه مثبت و منفی. مجلة روانشناسی، 36، 365-351.
براتی سده، ف. (1388). بررسی اثر بخشی مداخلات روانشناسی مثبت گرا درافزایش شادي و نشاط و معنادرزندگی وکاهش افسردگی، پایان نامه دربافت دکتري تخصصی درروانشناسی؛ دانشکده روانشناسی و علوم تربیتی، دانشگاه علامه طباطبایی.
بشارت، محمدعلی. (1387). بررسی ویژگیهاي روانسنجی نسخه فارسی فهرست عواطف مثبت و منفی.گزارش پژوهشی، دانشگاه تهران.
بشارت، محمدعلی. (1385). پايايي و اعتبار مقياس سلامت روان (MHI)، فصلنامة دانشور رفتار، 16، 16-11.
بشارت، محمدعلی. (1388). پايايي و روايي فرم 28 سوالي مقياس سلامت رواني در جمعيت ايراني. مجله علمي پزشکي قانوني،54،91-87.
چراغی، مونا.، عریضی، حمیدرضا.، و فراهانی، حجت اله. (1387). بررسی اعتبار، روایی، تحلیل عوامل و هنجاریابی پرسشنامه هدف در زندگی کرومباف و ماهولیک. مجلة روانشناسی 48، 12، 413-396.
سودانی, م.، مهرابی زاده هنرمند؛ مهناز.، ضرغامیان، ض. (1391). اثربخشی آموزش کسب معنا بر تاب آوری و کیفیت زندگی مادران دارای فرزند با نیازهای ویژه. روانشناسی افراد استثنایی، 3, 92-75.
غلامعلی لواسانی، مسعود.، اژه ای، جواد.، مصیری، فرهاد. (1392). رابطۀ معناي زندگی و خوشبینی با بهزیستی ذهنی. مجلۀ روانشناسی، 65، 17، 17-3.
Ashby, F. G., Valentin, V. V., & Turken, A. U. (2002). The effects of positive affect and arousal on working memory and executive attention, Advances In Consciousness Research, 44, 245-288.
Brassai, L., Piko, B. F., & Steger, M. F. (2011). Meaning in life: Is it a protective factor for adolescents’ psychological health? International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 18, 44-51.
Cohen, K., & Cairns, D. (2012). Is searching for meaning in life associated with reduced subjective well-being? Confirmation and possible moderators. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13, 313-331.
Cox, W. M., & Klinger, E. (2011). Handbook of motivational counseling: Goal-based approaches to assessment and intervention with addiction and other problems. John Wiley & Sons.
Crumbaugh, J. C., & Maholick, L. T. (1964). An experimental study in existentialism: The psychometric approach to Frankl›s concept of noogenic neurosis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 20, 200-207.
Dezutter, J., Waterman, A. S., Schwartz, S. J., Luyckx, K., Beyers, W., et al. (2014). Meaning in life in emerging adulthood: A person‐oriented approach. Journal of Personality, 82, 57-68.
Doğan, T., Sapmaz, F., Tel, F. D., Sapmaz, S., & Temizel, S. (2012). Meaning in life and subjective well-being among Turkish university students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 55, 612-617.
Frankl, V. E. (1963). Man’s search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy. New York, Washington Square Press.
Fredrickson, B. L., Tugade, M. M., Waugh, C. E., & Larkin, G. R. (2003). What good are positive emotions in crisis? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Journal of personality and social psychology, 84, 365-376.
García-Alandete, J., Soucase Lozano, B., Selles Nohales, P., & Martínez, E. R. (2013). Predictive role of meaning in life on psychological well-being and gender-specific differences. Acta Colombiana de Psicología, 16, 17-24.
Garcini L. M., Short. M., & Norwood. W., D. (2013). Affective and motivational predictors of perceived meaning in life among college students. The Journal of Happiness & Well-Being, 1, 47-60.
Heintzelman, S. J., & King, L. A. (2014). (The Feeling of) Meaning-as-Information.Personality and Social Psychology Review, 18, 153-167.
Heisel, M. J., Neufeld, E., & Flett, G. L. (2015). Reasons for living, meaning in life, and suicide ideation: investigating the roles of key positive psychological factors in reducing suicide risk in community-residing older adults. Aging & mental health, 1-13.
Ho, M. Y., Cheung, F. M., & Cheung, S. F. (2010). The role of meaning in life and optimism in promoting well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 658-663.
Isard, C. E. (2002). Translating emotion theory and research into preventive interventions. Pyschological Bulletin, 128, 769-824.
Işık, S., & Üzbe, N. (2015).Personality Traits and Positive/Negative Affects: An Analysis of Meaning in Life among Adults. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 15, 587-597.
King, L. A., Hicks, J. A., Krull, J. L., & Del Gaiso, A. K. (2006). Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 179–196.
Klinger, E. (1977). Meaning and void: Inner experience and the Incentives in Peaple´s Lives. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Krause, N., & Hayward, R. D. (2013). Religious involvement and feelings of connectedness with others among older Americans. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 35, 259-282.
Lavigne, K. M., Hofman, S., Ring, A. J., Ryder, A. G., & Woodward, T. S. (2013). The personality of meaning in life: Associations between dimensions of life meaning and the Big Five. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8, 34-43.
Lent, R. W. (2004). Toward a unifying theoretical and practical perspective on well-being and psychosocial adjustment. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51, 482–509.
Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111–131.
Moons, W. G., Eisenberger, N. I., & Taylor, S. E. (2010). Anger and fear responses to stress have different biological profiles. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 24, 215–219.
Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: an integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological bulletin, 136, 257-301.
Reker, G.T. (2000). Theoretical perspective, dimensions, and measurement of existential meaning. Exploring existential meaning: Optimizing human development across the life span (pp. 39-55). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Ryan, R. M & Deci, E. L. (2001 ). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudemonics well–being. Annual Review of psychology. 52: 141-166 .
Salovey, P, Rothman, A. J., Detweiler, J.B., & Steward, W. T. (2000). Emotional states and physical health. American Psychologist, 55, 110-121.
Schulenberg, S. E., Strack, K. M., & Buchanan, E. M. (2011). The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Psychometric properties with individuals with serious mental illness in an inpatient setting. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 67, 1210-1219.
Seligman, M. E. (1990). Learned optimism: The skills to conquer life’s obstacles, large and small. NY: Random House.
Shelley, A., Fahlman K, B., Mercer, P. G., Adrienne, E., E., & John, D. E. (2009). Does a Lack of Life Meaning Cause Boredom? Results from Psychometric, Longitudinal, and Experimental Analyses. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28, 307-340.
Southwick, S. M., Gilmartin, R., Mcdonough, P., & Morrissey, P. (2006). Logotherapy as an adjunctive treatment for chronic combat-related PTSD: A meaning-based intervention. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 60, 161-174.
Steger, M. F. (2012). Experiencing meaning in life. The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications, 165-184.
Steger, M. F. (2014). Is it Time to Consider Meaning in Life as a Public Policy Priority? Ewha Journal of Social Sciences, 30, 53-78.
Steger, M. F., & Dik, B. J. (2010). Work as meaning. Oxford handbook of positive psychology and work. 131-142.
Stellar, J. E., John-Henderson, N., Anderson, C. L., Gordon, A. M., McNeil, G. D., et al. (2015). Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines. Emotion, 15, 129-135.
Steptoe, A., O’Donnell, K., Badrick, E., Kumari, M., & Marmot, M. (2008). Neuroendocrine and inflammatory factors associated with positive affect in healthy men and women the Whitehall II Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 167, 96-102.
Van der Heyden, K., Dezutter, J., & Beyers, W. (2015). Meaning in Life and depressive symptoms: a person-oriented approach in residential and community-dwelling older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 19, 1063-1070.
Visser, A., Garssen, B., & Vingerhoets, A. (2010). Spirituality and well-being in cancer patients: A review. Psycho-Oncology, 19, 565- 572.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of Positive and Negative Affect: The PANAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063-1070.
Watson, D., & Tellegen, A. (1985). Toward a consensual structure of mood. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 219-235.
Westerhof, G. J., Bohlmeijer, E. T., van Beljouw, I. M., & Pot, A. M. (2010). Improvement in personal meaning mediates the effects of a life review intervention on depressive symptoms in a randomized controlled trial. The Gerontologist, 50, 541-549.
Wong, P. T. P. (2009). Positive existential psychology. In S. Lopez (Ed.), Encyclopedia. Oxford: Blackwell.
Wong, P. T. P. (2010). Meaning therapy: An integrative and positive existential psychotherapy. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 40(2), 85-93.
Wong, P. T. P. (2011). Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 52(2), 69-81.
Wong, P. T. P. (2012). The human quest for meaning (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Wong, P. T. P., & Wong, L. C. J. (2006). The handbook of multicultural perspectives on stress and coping. New York, NY: Springer.
Wong, P. T. P., Reker, G. T., & Peacock, E. (2006). The resource-congruence model of coping and the development of the Coping schema Inventury. Handbook of multicultural perspectives on stress and coping (pp. 223-283). New York, NY: Springer.
