Meaning and Stress THE ROLE OF EXISTENTIAL MEANING AS A BUFFER AGAINST STRESS

Summary An ethnically diverse sample of 143 college undergraduates was used to test the hypothesis that a sense of existential meaning buffers against the effect of stress on depression and hope. Spiritual meaning as measured by the Spiritual Meaning Scale and personal meaning as measured by the framework subscale from the Life Regard Index-Revised were significantly negatively correlated with depressive symptoms and positively correlated with hope. Spiritual meaning, but not personal meaning, moderated the relationship between stress and depression such that there was a strong relationship between depression and stress for individuals with low levels of spiritual meaning but no relationship between stress and depression 168 Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 46 No. 2, April 2006 168-190 DOI: 10.1177/0022167805283779 © 2006 Sage Publications for individuals with high levels of spiritual meaning. It appears that, though both spiritual and personal meaning are inversely related to depression and positively related to hope, only spiritual meaning moderates the relationship between daily stress and depression. Keywords: meaning; stress; depression; hope; spirituality; existentialism It is contrary to our nature, from the time we first gain the selfawareness and language use that connect our own inner world with the inner world of others, to do what we are asked without having a good reason, without asking why. And also from this time, our behavior is ever more guided and motivated by the answers to why questions that most satisfy us (i.e., our behavior is increasingly determined by the meanings we obtain for our lives). Yet within the field of mental health research, there is a limited amount of thorough quantitative assessment of meaning Progress in meaning research has been slowed by overreliance on measures such as the Purpose In Life Test (PIL; Regarding assessment of existential meaning, two related but unique subconstructs that are linked to psychometrically sound measurement devices have been identified. The first of these involves personal meaning, the extent to which someone views her or his individual life as coherent and purposeful. The second has been called spiritual meaning Evidence suggests that personal and spiritual meaning are related to enhanced psychological well-being. Personal meaning is the most thoroughly investigated of the concepts. As measured by either the original The studies summarized above provide evidence that existential meaning has a broad relationship with psychological health: It is consistently related to fewer symptoms of psychopathology and other such "negative variables" and to enhanced levels of positive variables (e.g., elation, hope, spiritual well-being). However, there is clearly a need for research with more diverse populations, for more longitudinal or prospective analyses, and for more precise tests of existential theory. Regarding the need for more precise tests of existential theory, it is notable that one of meaning's primary virtues has been theorized to be its ability to act as a buffer against stress, such that under high-stress conditions more so than low-stress conditions, a meaning-full attitude provides an individual with resiliency against the loss of hope and against the development of anhedonia, depressive affect, and behavioral disengagement 172 Meaning and Stress the notion that having high levels of meaning in life can buffer against some of the deleterious effects of daily stress, would exist. METHOD Participants A total of 143 undergraduates enrolled in introductory psychology courses at a large state university located in the Southern United States completed the self-report devices listed below in exchange for course credit. The sample was an ethnically diverse one, of which 25 (17.5%) individuals were Asian, 13 (9.1%) were African American, 49 (34.3%) were Hispanic, 1 (0.7%) was Native American, 49 (34.3%) were Caucasian, and 6 (4.2%) were of other, unidentified ethnicity. Also, 77 (53.8%) of the participants were females. The sample was rather young and homogeneous in terms of age, as the mean age was 18.69 years (SD = 0.95). Materials Personal meaning. The LRI-R-framework (Debats, 1998) was used as a measure of personal meaning. Debats's (1998) revised version of the LRI-R-framework is slightly altered from the original in that its items are in a different order, one word was deleted from three items, and items are rated on a scale ranging from 1 to 3 rather than from 1 to 5. The LRI-R-framework is a 14-item, Likerttype, self-report scale assessing the extent to which an individual reports having a framework or philosophy for living. It includes such positively worded items as, "I feel like I have found a really significant meaning for leading my life," and "I have a philosophy of life that really gives my living significance," and such negatively worded items as, "I really don't have much of a purpose for living, even for myself," and "I really don't believe in anything about my life very deeply." The overall LRI-which includes a fulfillment scale in addition to the framework scale-has also been endorsed as a good personal meaning measure Spiritual meaning. The SMS Depression. Participants' depression levels were obtained using the depression scale from the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-depression; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995a) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Hope. Participants' levels of hope were assessed using Snyder's Adult State Hope Scale (ASHS; Stress. To assess the degree of minor stresses or daily hassles faced by each participant within the past 24 hours, we administered the Daily Stress Inventory (DSI; Procedure During two consecutive semesters, the aforementioned participants were recruited to complete the measures noted above. Individuals completed these measures in groups no larger than 40 at various times throughout the two semesters. All participants gave their informed consent before participation and were given course credit in return for volunteering to participate. RESULTS Statistical Analyses To determine the general relationships among personal and spiritual meaning, depression, hope, and stress, Pearson correlation analysis was employed. Because of the number of simultaneous correlations involved, a significance level of p = .01, as opposed to the standard .05, was adopted. As mentioned earlier, our hypothesis was that meaning would moderate relationships among stress, depression, and hope such that individuals experi- 176 Meaning and Stress encing high levels of meaning would demonstrate a weaker positive relationship between stress and depression and a weaker negative relationship between stress and hope than would individuals experiencing low levels of meaning. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test this prediction. Eight regression analyses were performed in total, four for personal meaning predicting each of the outcome measures and four for spiritual meaning predicting each of the outcome measures. For each analysis, DSI scores were entered in Step 1 predicting BDI, DASS-depression, HHS, or ASHS scores. In Step 2 of each regression, we added scores for the respective meaning variable, and in Step 3, we added the scores reflecting the interaction between the respective meaning variable and DSI scores (i.e., meaning scores multiplied by DSI scores). We observed whether or not adding the interaction term significantly improved the amount of variance explained in the respective outcome variable and whether or not the beta weight for this interaction term was in the hypothesized direction (i.e., negative when predicting BDI-II and DASS-depression scores and positive when predicting HHS and ASHS scores). Descriptive Statistics Descriptive statistics are listed in Factor Analysis of the SMS Factor loadings for a maximum likelihood analysis of the 15 SMS items, with 1 factor extracted, are displayed in .66 4. Life is inherently meaningful. .65 5. I will never have a spiritual bond with anyone. (-) .50 6. When I look deep within my heart, I see a life I am compelled to pursue. .48 7. My life is meaningful. .68 8. In performing certain tasks, I can feel something higher or transcendent working through me. .62 9. Our flawed and often horrific behavior indicates that there is little or no meaning inherent in our existence. (-) .62 10. I find meaning even in my mistakes and sins. .69 11. I see a special purpose for myself in this world. .84 12. There are certain activities, jobs, or services to which I feel called. .50 13. There is no reason or meaning underlying human existence. (-) .61 14. Something purposeful is at the heart of this world. .73 15. We are all participating in something larger and greater than any of us. .70 NOTE: N = 143. When administering the SMS, items are listed in the order they appear in changes in stress and is therefore capable of serving as a resiliency factor or in other words a buffer against stress. An implication of the lack of a significant relationship between hope and stress means that it is more important for meaning to buffer the effect of stress on depression than to buffer stress' effect on hope. Nevertheless, the possibility still exists that individuals with low levels of meaning are increasingly vulnerable to reduced levels of hope in the context of high stress levels. Analyses of the Meaning By Stress Interaction Summarized i