Meaning in life from a cultural perspective: the role of cultural identity, perceived social support, and resilience among Chinese college students

For college students facing psychological “weaning”, the lack of a sense of meaning in life can lead to a series of psychological and behavioral problems, such as anxiety, depression, and even increased risk of aggressive behavior or suicide. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the influencing factors related to college students’ sense of meaning in life, especially from the more macroscopic perspective of culture. In this study, 974 college students (Mean age = 19.96, SD = 1.80) from China were selected as respondents, and structural equation modeling and network analysis were used to explore the deep-rooted mechanisms between cultural identity and meaning in life, as well as the role that perceived social support and resilience play in this pathway. The results indicate that cultural identity has a significant positive effect on college students’ meaning in life, while perceived social support and resilience play a chain mediating role in both. In addition, the network analysis was employed to further identify the core items of each variable in the model. This study aims to explore the mechanism between cultural identity and college students’ meaning in life from a novel perspective, providing more insights for college students to seek and obtain a sense of meaning in life.