Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2025

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
Published on: May 31, 2021
Meaning in Life among Older Adults: An Integrative Model
Lee Greenblatt-Kimron1, Maya Kagan1, Ester Zychlinski1
1School of Social Work, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel.
Abstract:
Meaning in life (MIL) among older adults has a significant physical and mental health impact. This study aimed to present an integrative model of factors that contribute to variability in MIL among older adults, including background characteristics (gender, age, employment status, religiosity), personality characteristics (locus of control, self-efficacy, optimism), and psycho-social factors (psychological distress and loneliness). Participants (751 older adults, M = 72.27, SD = 6.28; 446 female, 305 male) responded to a questionnaire in-person or online. Measures included: demographic variables, Short Scale for the Assessment of Locus of Control, New General Self-Efficacy Scale, Life Orientation Test-Revised, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, and Hughes Short Scale for Measuring Loneliness. Hierarchical regression revealed that younger and religious older adults reported higher MIL levels than older and non-religious older adults. Internal locus of control, higher self-efficacy, and higher optimism were linked to higher MIL levels. Higher psychological distress and loneliness were associated with lower MIL levels, with psychological distress contributing the most of all variables in the study model to explain the variance in MIL among older adults. Employed older old adults reported lower MIL levels than those unemployed. The study emphasizes the importance of an integrative approach in the examination of MIL among older adults.
Related Concept Videos
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adulthood
Intimacy Versus Isolation in Early Adulthood
Individuals in early...
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Emerging Adulthood
Marcia's Theory of Identity Status
Relationship Formation

