Learned Helplessness and Meaning in Life in Emerging Adults: The Serial Mediating Role of Free Will and Agency

Meaning in life, particularly among emerging adults, is considered a crucial factor in navigating mental health difficulties, coping with life's challenges, and fostering inner peace, life satisfaction, and overall well-being. This cross-sectional study aimed to explain the mediating roles of free will and agency in the relationship between learned helplessness and meaning in life among Turkish emerging adults. The sample consisted of 349 participants (72.80% female, n = 254; 27.20% male, n = 95), aged between 18 and 26 years (M = 21.92, SD = 2.19). The findings revealed that learned helplessness significantly predicted levels of meaning in life, free will, and agency. Moreover, free will was found to mediate the association between learned helplessness and agency. While free will contributes to the development of agency, it also helps explain the link between learned helplessness and meaning in life. Agency also acted as a mediator in the association between learned helplessness and meaning in life, underscoring its potential significance in understanding how individuals maintain a sense of meaning. Overall, the study offers an explanatory framework for the central roles of free will and agency in the context of meaning-making during emerging adulthood and how these constructs may buffer against the psychological consequences of learned helplessness.