Cultivating a sense of existential meaning is identified in psychological literature as an important factor in preventing illness, in promoting health, and in successfully adapting to life′s changing circumstances (resiliency as well as recovery). A lack of this sense of meaning, which the editors refer to as ‘existential vacuum’, can form the basis of such disorders and diseases as neurosis, depression, aggression, suicide ideation, and substance abuse. Scholars have studied these relationships for years. But new developments in the field and results of recent qualitative analyses have led to a new focus on how people experience the world and draw meaning from ordinary life. Based on their research over the last ten years, the editors write, ‘Existential meaning plays a crucial role in moderating the effects of stress oh physical health and psychological well-being…The role of existential meaning at different stages of life, and at points of transition between stages, has much to teach us about optimal human development across the life span.’ The editors have organized the book into three sections. In the first they and their contributors lay out the foundational models and definitions that are current in the study of existential meaning. Part two emphasizes research methodology, particularly issues relevant to investigation and measurement of questions and experiences of personal meaning (clinical and sociological). The third section offers specific applications of the theories, models, and methodologies presented in the first two parts.
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Foreword – James E Birren
Introduction – Gary T Reker and Kerry Chamberlain
PART ONE: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL ISSUES
Philosophical Foundations of Existential Meaning – Gary M Kenyon
Meaning as Movement – Hubert J M Hermans
The Relativity of the Mind
Theoretical Perspective, Dimensions, and Measurement of Existential Meaning – Gary T Reker
PART TWO: RESEARCH ON EXISTENTIAL MEANING
Structural Components of Personal Meaning in Life and their Relationship with Death Attitudes and Coping Mechanisms in Late Adulthood – Nancy Van Ranst and Alfons Marcoen
Dimensions and Discourses of Meaning in Life – Kay O′Connor and Kerry Chamberlain
Approaching Meaning from Qualitiative Perspectives
An Inquiry into Existential Meaning – Dominique L Debats
Theoretical, Clinincal and Phenomenal Perspectives
The Personal Meaning System in a Life-Span Perspective – Freya Dittman-Kohli and Gerben J Westerhof
The Development of a Culturally Sensitive Measure of Sources of Life Meaning – Edward Prager, Rivka Savaya and Leora Bar-Tur
PART THREE: APPLICATIONS AND INTERVENTIONS
Finding Meaning in Caregivers of Persons with Alzheimer′s Disease – Carol J Farran, Karen Lowe Graham and Dimitra Loukissa
African American and White Caregivers′ Perspectives
Making Meaning within the Experience of Life-Threatening Illness – Doris D Coward
Religion and Meaning in Late Life – Susan H Mc Fadden
Logotherapeutic and `Depth Psychology′ Approaches to Meaning and Psychotherapy – David Guttmann
PART FOUR: OVERVIEW AND NEW DIRECTIONS
Existential Meaning – Gary T Reker and Kerry Chamberlain
Reflections and Directions
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Kerry Chamberlain is Professor of Social and Health Psychology at Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand. He is coeditor (with Michael Murray) of Qualitative Health Psychology: Theories and Methods (SAGE), coauthor (with Antonia Lyons) of Health Psychology: A Critical Introduction (Cambridge), and series editor (with Antonia Lyons) for Critical Approaches to Health (Routledge). He serves on the editorial boards of several journals and has published widely on health issues and qualitative research. His current research interests are in poverty, health and illness, medicalisation, food, and the mundane, and innovative methods for qualitative research.
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