Theoretical Examination of Operationalisations of Meaning-In-Life in Seven Scales: Some Implications for Meaning-In-Life Research

The questions of "what gives life meaning" or "what is the meaning in life" have received increased theoretical and empirical interest in psychology. This has manifested itself in the various scales that have been constructed to measure the meaning-in-life (MIL) construct. It has long been considered problematic to define and measure. The present study had two aims. Firstly, to review seven well-established scales often used to assess MIL, regarding how it is defined and operationalized. Secondly, to discuss some implications for the definition and measurement of the MIL-construct. Based on the review, it was suggested that MIL is a multidimensional construct comprising content-, dynamic-, temporal-, and spatial-dimensions. A synthesized and expanded but tentative definition of MIL was proposed. The sense of meaning-in-life is defined as a stable yet dynamic perspective, which integrates the past, present, and future of fundamental life-domains, regarding a motivational, cognitive, evaluative/affective and behavioural content, represented primarily in terms of purpose, comprehension, mattering, and manageability. A task for future research is to investigate the merits of the suggested definition for conceptualization and measurement of MIL.