Sources of Meaning in Life Among Chinese University Students

The current studies were designed to explore the structure of sources of meaning in life among Chinese university students. In Study 1, we content-analyzed 171 students’ answers to the question of what made their lives meaningful and derived 74 frequently mentioned ideas. Then, we composed a questio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of happiness studies 2016-08, Vol.17 (4), p.1473-1492
Main Authors: Zhang, Hong, Sang, Zhiqin, Chan, Darius K.-S., Teng, Fei, Liu, Man, Yu, Shuo, Tian, Yuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autonomy
Buddhism
Chinese culture
College students
Colleges & universities
Confucianism
Culture
Decisions
Economics
Ethics
Humanities
Interpersonal relations
Life
Meaning
Morality
Music
Noncitizens
Personality and Social Psychology
Philosophy
Positive Psychology
Quality of Life Research
Questionnaires
Religion
Research Paper
Social Sciences
Social status
Status
Taoism
University students
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Summary:The current studies were designed to explore the structure of sources of meaning in life among Chinese university students. In Study 1, we content-analyzed 171 students’ answers to the question of what made their lives meaningful and derived 74 frequently mentioned ideas. Then, we composed a questionnaire based on these ideas and administered it to another sample of 523 university students in Study 2. Seven underlying dimensions were identified through exploratory factor analysis: Self - development (i.e., to accomplish one’s aspirations and actualize one’s potential), social commitment (i.e., to contribute to society and to adhere to moral principles), interpersonal relationships (i.e., relationships with family members, friends and others), secular pursuits (i.e., stable jobs, material possessions and social status), experiences in life (i.e., to experience all the joys and sorrows in life), civilization (i.e., reading, thinking, music and arts), and autonomy (i.e., to make decisions freely and take charge of one’s own life). Results are discussed in light of the philosophical influences in Chinese culture, especially those from Confucianism and Taoism.
ISSN:1389-4978
1573-7780
DOI:10.1007/s10902-015-9653-5