Meaning of Life Questionnaire

Meaning in life has been identified as a potential mediator of the link between religiousness and psychological health. A 10-item questionnaire designed to measure two dimensions of meaning in life: (1) Presence of Meaning (how much respondents feel their lives have meaning), and (2) Search for Meaning (how much respondents strive to find meaning and understanding in their lives). Respondents answer each item on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (Absolutely True) to 7 (Absolutely Untrue).

Constructs Being Measured

Primary
Sense of purpose
Secondary
Psychological well-being

How to Access and Cite

Outcome Families

Well-being
Awareness

 

Programmatic Purpose-terms

Classroom-level data and feedback
Feedback for parents and other school-level stakeholders

Instrument Characteristics

Type of items

10 Likert type questions

Format
Self-report

Applicable Grade Levels-terms

Primary
Secondary
Post-secondary

Supporting Research

Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 80-93

Available Languages

Rationale

Points to Consider

For more guidance on measuring student learning and best practices in adapting measurement tools to your contexts, check out the Portal page on Monitoring and Evaluation. You can also contact Alvin Vista (Knowledge Lead, Student Outcomes) and Robbie Dean (Director of Research) for specific questions.