2020/08/05 by Brian D. Ostafin, Travis Proulx
Psychology · #Optimism, Hope, and Well-being #Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction #Resilience and Mental Health
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/10615806.2020.1800655
openalex publication_date 2020/08/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02
Background: and Objectives: This research examined whether life meaning promotes resilience to stressor-related psychological distress and repetitive negative thinking.Design and Methods: Three studies (total N = 273) used cross-sectional (Study 1) and prospective (Studies 2 and 3) designs to assess the relation between life meaning and response to various stressors.Results: Results showed that in Study 1, greater life meaning was inversely related with repetitive negative thinking and psychological distress. Further, a mediation analysis showed an indirect effect for the life meaning-repetitive negative thinking relation through psychological distress. In Study 2, baseline life meaning predicted less repetitive negative thinking about a subsequent city-wide flood. In Study 3, baseline life meaning was inversely related to distress and repetitive negative thinking after writing about an aversive memory. A mediation analysis showed an indirect effect for the life meaning-repetitive negative thinking relation through distress.Conclusions: In all studies, life meaning predicted outcomes when controlling for other positive well-being variables. Overall, the findings suggest that individuals with greater trait life meaning experience less stressor-related distress and repetitive negative thinking and that the life meaning-repetitive negative thinking relation may be mediated by distress.