Background

Meaning in life is a foundational element of wellbeing and positive psychology. Numerous scholars have advanced multidimensional models of meaning in life, yet until very recently, few efforts had been developed to attempt to measure such dimensions. The present research describes the development of the Three Dimensional Meaning in Life Scale (3DM) to enable the measurement of the three dimensions proposed by Martela & Steger (2016): Purpose, Coherence, and Significance. 

Aims

The 3DM was developed to advance research on meaning in life by providing measurement of three proposed dimensions, Purpose, Coherence, and Significance in a brief format with strong psychometric properties and high utility.

Method

Studies 1-3 (total n=933) tested and refined items in adult samples recruited from MTurk, and demonstrated convergent validity of the resulting 3DM. Study 4 assigned participants (n=241) to one of three vignettes designed to focus on Purpose, Coherence, or Significance with the intent of assessing whether the three subscales of the 3DM would reveal differences in responding across the three experimental conditions. Study 5 (n=336) tested the concordance of the 3DM's Significance subscale with existing measures of Mattering, another proposed third dimension of meaning in life.

Results

The five studies indicated that the 3DM assesses three highly intercorrelated yet statistically separable dimensions of meaning in life, labeled Purpose, Coherence, and Significance, which corresponds with proposed theories. The pattern of correlations with wellbeing, other multidimensional measures of meaning in life, and variables selected to be differentially related to the three dimensions generally and consistently supported hypotheses about the nature of the three dimensions. Further, an experiment also supported distinctions among the three dimensions as hypothesized.

Conclusion

Researchers and practitioners interested in meaning in life have a new tool for measuring Purpose, Coherence, and Significance. Future research is needed to explore distinctions between Significance and Mattering, and to identify the boundary conditions among the three dimensions.