Meaningfulness in Life: A Three-country Concurrent Validation Study

Meaningfulness in life (MIL) is an important factor in supporting psychological and physiological well-being. However, results are not consistent across studies conducted in different cultures. This study aims to validate a new 15-item measure on MIL. Given its role in shaping how people view stressors, it is expected that the construct will not relate with role stressors (ambiguity, overload, and conflict), but will relate with strains (anxiety and turnover intention) across three national cultural contexts: USA (n=151), Spain (n=132), and Germany (n=117), and Germany. An exploratory Principal Components Factor Analysis yielded a two-factor solution, but factor one (with eight items), accounting for 34.5-43.5% of variance in the measure, most clearly tapped into the focal construct. Alpha reliability for the eight-item construct was .84 (USA), .86 (Germany), and .88 (Spain). Next, MIL was correlated with stressors and strains. It had minimal correlations with role stressors. Exceptions included r = -.23 between ambiguity and MIL in the USA, but r = .33 in Germany, and r = .18 between overload and MIL in Spain. Correlations with strains and outcomes were more consistent with theory. For example, the correlations of MIL and anxiety were r = -.18 in the USA, -.17 in Spain, and -.21 in Germany, and with turnover intention they were r = -.15 in the USA, -.21 in Spain, and -.26 in Germany. Results demonstrate the consistency of the construct and its utility in understanding the role it plays in employee well-being.