Abstract
Abstract The benefits of understanding and pursuing one's purposes in life are well documented. However, few studies have addressed potential interventions for enhancing purpose. This article presents the results of an empirical investigation testing whether reflecting on and discussing one's core values, life goals, and purposes in life has benefits for later purpose, as well as later life satisfaction. The study involved a pretest/posttest experimental design with 102 college students, with posttest measures administered nine months later. Results showed that those who engaged in the guided discussion of their values, life goals, and purpose (compared to those who did not) benefited in terms of their goal directedness and life satisfaction and that the benefits for life satisfaction were partially attributable to changes in goal directedness. The article concludes by highlighting implications for practitioners of all kinds, including parents, with recommendations for implementing the purpose discussion in a variety of youth settings.
Keywords
Life satisfactionVariety (cybernetics)Psychological interventionPsychologyApplied psychologyQuality of life (healthcare)Medical educationSocial psychologyMedicinePsychotherapist
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
Development and construct validation of a career entrenchment measure
The development and construct validation of a 12‐item career entrenchment measure is reported. Taking a theory‐driven approach, three dimensions comprising career entrenchment w...
World Health Forum
A principal challenge for scientist and practitioner in this multidisciplinary era is to successfully communicate beyond the boundaries of one's expertise. This is demanded of i...
A Randomized, Controlled Trial to Teach Middle School Children to Recognize Stroke and Call 911
Background and Purpose— Underutilization of acute stroke therapy is driven by delay to hospital arrival. We present the primary results of a pilot, randomized, controlled trial ...
Social structure and organizations
The general topic of this chapter is the relation of the society outside organizations to the internal life of organizations. Part of the specific topics have to do with the eff...
Purpose, hope, and life satisfaction in three age groups
Using the Revised Youth Purpose Survey (Bundick et al., 2006 Bundick, M, Andrews, M, Jones, A, Mariano, JM, Bronk, KC and Damon, W. 2006. Revised youth purpose survey, Stanford,...
Publication Info
- Year
- 2011
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 2011
- Issue
- 132
- Pages
- 89-103
- Citations
- 98
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
98
OpenAlex
Cite This
Matthew J. Bundick
(2011).
The benefits of reflecting on and discussing purpose in life in emerging adulthood.
New Directions for Youth Development
, 2011
(132)
, 89-103.
https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.430
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1002/yd.430