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HandWiki. Meaningful Life. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/35931 (accessed on 23 September 2026).
HandWiki. Meaningful Life. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/35931. Accessed September 23, 2026.
HandWiki. "Meaningful Life" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/35931 (accessed September 23, 2026).
HandWiki. (2022, November 23). Meaningful Life. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/35931
HandWiki. "Meaningful Life." Encyclopedia. Web. 23 November, 2022.
Meaningful Life
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The content is sourced from: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Social:Meaningful_life

In positive psychology, a meaningful life is a construct having to do with the purpose, significance, fulfillment, and satisfaction of life. While specific theories vary, there are two common aspects: a global schema to understand one's life and the belief that life itself is meaningful. Meaning can be defined as the connection linking two presumably independent entities together; a meaningful life links the biological reality of life to a symbolic interpretation or meaning. Those possessing a sense of meaning are generally found to be happier, to have lower levels of negative emotions, and to have lower risk of mental illness.

meaningful life sense of meaning psychology

References

  1. null
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  3. McAdams, Dan P. (1996). The stories we live by : personal myths and the making of the self (5., 6. print. ed.). New York: Guilford Press. ISBN 1572301880. 
  4. Stillman, TF; Baumeister, RF; Lambert, NM; Crescioni, AW; Dewall, CN; Fincham, FD (Jul 2009). "Alone and Without Purpose: Life Loses Meaning Following Social Exclusion.". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45 (4): 686–694. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2009.03.007. PMID 20161218.  http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2717555
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  7. Roepke, Ann Marie; Jayawickreme, Eranda; Riffle, Olivia M. (2014-12-01). "Meaning and Health: A Systematic Review" (in en). Applied Research in Quality of Life 9 (4): 1055–1079. doi:10.1007/s11482-013-9288-9. ISSN 1871-2584. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11482-013-9288-9. 
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  9. . JIN Yuchang, HE Mingcheng, LI Junyi"The relationship between meaning in life and subjective well-being in China: A Meta-analysis" (in en). Advances in Psychological Science 24 (12). 2016-12-15. doi:10.3724/SP.J.1042.2016.01854. ISSN 1671-3710. http://journal.psych.ac.cn/xlkxjz/EN/abstract/abstract3589.shtml. 
  10. Cohen, Randy; Bavishi, Chirag; Rozanski, Alan. "Purpose in Life and Its Relationship to All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Events". Psychosomatic Medicine 78 (2): 122–133. doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000000274. http://content.wkhealth.com/linkback/openurl?sid=WKPTLP:landingpage&an=00006842-201602000-00002. 
  11. Pinquart, Martin (2002-03-01). "Creating and maintaining purpose in life in old age: A meta-analysis" (in en). Ageing International 27 (2): 90–114. doi:10.1007/s12126-002-1004-2. ISSN 0163-5158. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12126-002-1004-2. 
  12. Bower, JE; Kemeny, ME; Taylor, SE; Fahey, JL (Dec 1998). "Cognitive processing, discovery of meaning, CD4 decline, and AIDS-related mortality among bereaved HIV-seropositive men.". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 66 (6): 979–86. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.66.6.979. PMID 9874911.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1037%2F0022-006X.66.6.979
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  14. Grewal, Daisy. "A Happy Life May Not Be a Meaningful Life" (in en). Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-happy-life-may-not-be-a-meaningful-life/. 
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  18. Kruizinga, Renske; Hartog, Iris D.; Jacobs, Marc; Daams, Joost G.; Scherer-Rath, Michael; Schilderman, Johannes B. A. M.; Sprangers, Mirjam A. G.; Van Laarhoven, Hanneke W. M. (2016-03-01). "The effect of spiritual interventions addressing existential themes using a narrative approach on quality of life of cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis" (in en). Psycho-Oncology 25 (3): 253–265. doi:10.1002/pon.3910. ISSN 1099-1611. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pon.3910/abstract. 
  19. Vos, Joel (2016) (in en). Clinical Perspectives on Meaning. Springer, Cham. pp. 59–87. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-41397-6_4. ISBN 9783319413952. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-41397-6_4. 
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