Personal Meaning Orientations and Psychosocial Adaptation in Older Adults

By G. Reker, L. Woo. 2011

95 citations recorded by the source corpus.

This study examined how different patterns of sources of meaning in life impact the psychosocial adaptation of older adults. A total of 120 (62 women and 58 men) community-residing older adults completed self-report measures of sources of meaning in life, physical health, life satisfaction, depression, personality, existential regrets, attitudes toward aging, and attitudes toward life. Cluster analysis of sources of meaning revealed four distinct meaning orientations: self-transcendent (n = 32), collectivistic (n = 24), individualistic (n = 34), and self-preoccupied (n = 30). MANCOVA analysis of the four groups, controlling for age, marital status, education, and financial satisfaction, revealed a strong multivariate main effect for meaning orientation. No statistically significant gender and Gender × Meaning orientation interaction effects were found. Older adults, who derive meaning from self-transcendent sources, are more extraverted, open to experience, agreeable, and conscientious; perceive greater purpose and coherence in life; feel more in control in directing their lives; express a stronger desire to get more out of life; and are less depressed compared with those who derive meaning through pursuing self-serving interests without any real commitment to personal, interpersonal, or societal development. The implications of the findings for positive aging are discussed.

Subfields: Applied Psychology, General Health Professions, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/ecd0260b1d8ed41341e6dce99b9d568cb5623e3e

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In Applied Psychology

In General Health Professions

In Social Psychology

Citations in the corpus

Assessing meaning and meaning making in the context of stressful life events: Measurement tools and approaches (2013, background): “More recent research has also supported the importance of these domains (Reker & Woo, 2011; Schnell, 2011).”
Sources and motives for personal meaning in adulthood (2013, background): “Among older adults, deriving meaning from transcendental sources was related to higher levels of purpose, sense of coherence, responsibility and agreeableness than finding meaning in more individualistic, self-serving interests (Reker & Woo, 2011).”
Flourishing in nature: A review of the benefits of connecting with nature and its application as a wellbeing intervention (2015, background): “…in natural environments are an important source of meaning for adults of all ages (Fegg, Kramer, L’hoste, & Borasio, 2008; O’Connor & Chamberlain, 1996; Reker & Woo, 2011; Schnell, 2009; Steger et al., 2013), including clinical populations (e.g., Berger & McLeod, 2006; Granerud & Eriksson, 2014).”
Eco-Existential Positive Psychology: Experiences in Nature, Existential Anxieties, and Well-Being (2014, unknown): “…sources of meaning, experiences in natural environments have emerged as a significant category for adults in mid-life (O’Connor & Chamberlain, 1996) and older adults (Reker & Woo, 2011), and Nisbet and colleagues (2011) showed that purpose in life was a significant correlate of nature affiliation.”
Meaning in Nature: Meaning in Life as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Nature Connectedness and Well-Being (2013, background): “In studies examining sources of meaning, experiences in nature have emerged as a significant category for adults in midlife (O’Connor and Chamberlain 1996) and older adults (Reker and Woo 2011).”