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Special Issue "New Thinking on Psychological Health: Find Purpose and Meaning in Life"

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 June 2023) | Viewed by 3208

Special Issue Editors

1. Hilldale Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
2. Director, Institute on Aging, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
3. Principal Investigator, MIDUS National Longitudinal Study, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Interests: psychological well-being; eudaimonia; purpose in life; morbidity; mortality; physiological mechanisms; brain mechanisms; socioeconomic disparities; racial disparities; culture; integrative health science
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Co-Guest Editor
1. Founder & CEO, Eudaimonic by Design, Toronto, ON M5T 2Y8, Canada
2. Faculty Member, Master of Applied Positive Psychology Program, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
3. Board Member, International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), Apple Valley, MN 55124, USA
Interests: eudaimonia; applied positive psychology; positive organizational development (focus on leadership and institutional culture); human resources development; coaching; ethics; performing arts and humanities
* Co-Chair, IPPA World Congress on Positive Psychology, 2023

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent years have seen notable changes in the science and practice of mental health. Traditionally formulated in terms of psychological disorders, the new thinking has focused on diverse aspects of well-being. Key among these new directions have been studies of purposeful life engagement and the pursuit of meaningful lives. This Special Issue seeks to deepen and broaden work in these areas. One route of expansion is to bring greater attention to the life domains (work, family, community, civic engagement) in which experiences of purpose and meaning are nurtured, or possibly undermined. Another direction is to bring greater emphasis to surrounding social structural contexts, such as socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, cultural background, surrounding physical environments. How do these contextual influences matter for purpose and meaning? Growing science has linked purpose in life to health, defined as increased longevity, reduced risk of disease, better physiological regulation, brain-based assessments of emotion regulation, and gene expression. These also constitute promising areas of expansion—for whom do these effects occur? Under what conditions? In what contexts? From the perspective of application, key questions pertain to whether purpose and meaning are modifiable. Can these aspects of well-being be cultivated, including among those who do not typically have such experiences? What interventions have been shown to have impact and in what domains? Finally, there is merit in revisiting the theoretical and conceptual foundations of purpose and meaning to illuminate how such ideas intersect with critical humanism and commitments to address major societal challenges, such as climate change, growing inequality, and the pandemic.

Prof. Dr. Carol D. Ryff
Guest Editor
Andrew Soren
Co-Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • purposeful life engagement
  • meaningful living
  • life domains
  • social and environmental contexts
  • longevity
  • disease risk
  • physiological regulation
  • brain mechanisms
  • gene expression
  • interventions
  • theory
  • philosophy
  • societal change

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
The Relationship between Meaning in Life and the Childhood Family Environment among Emerging Adults
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(11), 5945; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20115945 - 24 May 2023
Viewed by 526
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of the childhood family environment on reported meaning in life among emerging adults (n = 507) at a private, urban, religious university. This study found that participants who reported growing up in an emotionally warm family environment [...] Read more.
This study investigates the impact of the childhood family environment on reported meaning in life among emerging adults (n = 507) at a private, urban, religious university. This study found that participants who reported growing up in an emotionally warm family environment ultimately reported more meaning in life as adults and that this effect was mediated by loneliness. This suggests that people from emotionally cold and rejecting early family environments may struggle with meaning in life as adults because they are lonelier. This research contributes a developmental perspective to understanding meaning in life. The public health implications of these findings are discussed. Future research should consider accounting for the effects of early life experiences on meaning in life. Full article
Article
Biopsychosocial Factors That Influence the Purpose in Life among Working Adults and Retirees
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(8), 5456; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20085456 - 10 Apr 2023
Viewed by 938
Abstract
This study aimed to identify and characterize biopsychosocial factors that impact the purpose in life (PIL) among adults that are working or already retired. This cross-sectional study includes a sample of 1330 participants, of whom 62.2% were female, with ages ranging from 55 [...] Read more.
This study aimed to identify and characterize biopsychosocial factors that impact the purpose in life (PIL) among adults that are working or already retired. This cross-sectional study includes a sample of 1330 participants, of whom 62.2% were female, with ages ranging from 55 and 84 years, with a mean of 61.93 years and a standard deviation of 7.65. Results suggest that the education level, stress, spirituality (religion) and optimism, social support from friends, and quality of life related to physical health seem to contribute positively to the PIL for both groups. However, some variables such as age, marital status and environmental quality of life help explain the PIL of retired people and the quality of life related to social support helps explain the PIL of working adults. Overall, the reported findings suggest that the purpose in life is strongly related to physical, psychological, social and environmental health factors. It is highlighted that working adults and retired people have their purpose in life related to similar factors and others specific to each life stage, suggesting the need for crucial interventions to promote a healthier and more positive aging process. Full article
Article
Reciprocal Associations between Depressive Symptoms, Life Satisfaction, and Eudaimonic Well-Being in Older Adults over a 16-Year Period
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2374; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032374 - 29 Jan 2023
Viewed by 954
Abstract
The dual-continua model of mental health distinguishes between mental illness (presence of mental disorders, such as depression) and mental well-being (presence of positive traits and abilities). This model also distinguishes between hedonic well-being (e.g., affect balance and life satisfaction) and eudaimonic well-being (i.e., [...] Read more.
The dual-continua model of mental health distinguishes between mental illness (presence of mental disorders, such as depression) and mental well-being (presence of positive traits and abilities). This model also distinguishes between hedonic well-being (e.g., affect balance and life satisfaction) and eudaimonic well-being (i.e., optimal psychological and social functioning, as indicated for example by having a purpose in life). We examined the relationships between depressive symptoms (a common indicator of mental illness), life satisfaction, and eudaimonic well-being. The study used a sample of 17,056 participants from England whose data were collected at eight intervals of approximately two years over a 16-year period, from 2004 to 2019. The mean age of the sample in the first wave was 58.843 years, with a standard deviation of 12.617 years (women = 55.2%). We disentangled within- and between-person sources of variance to examine whether increases or decreases in one variable preceded changes in the other variables at the next time point. We found positive reciprocal relationships between life satisfaction and eudaimonic well-being and negative reciprocal relationships between the two well-being dimensions and depressive symptoms. These results suggest that within-person increases in well-being are followed by future decreases in depressive symptoms, and within-person increases in depressive symptoms are followed by future decreases in well-being. Therefore, low levels of mental well-being in older adults may be considered a risk factor for depression, and well-being interventions (such as those focused on meaning-making) may serve as a protective factor against depression in older adults. Full article
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