Presence of Meaning in Life and College Students' Preferred Types of Well-Being at College

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: Finding Meaning: Purpose, Self-Authorship, and Pathways to Thriving (Table 8)

Abstract

Based on the framework of identity exploration and commitment, we examined how certainty of meaning in students’ life predict a preferred type of a good life (i.e., a committing life vs. an explorative life). We conducted a four-wave survey from 2019 to 2022 (total N = 2,586). We found that having a clear sense of meaning in life was positively correlated with choosing a meaningful college life (i.e., a committing life), whereas a lack of clear purpose was positively correlated with a psychologically rich college life (i.e., an explorative life). The current results suggested that college environments fostering meaning in life might hold a prolonged effect on what type of life people would pursue in the future.

Authors

• Yingxue Liu, University of Virginia
  Presenting Author

• Youngjae Cha, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author