Meaningfulness and crises of meaning in young people’s lives examined in relation to psychopathology

Project: PhD Project

Project Details

Description

Background
Since 2006, the number of children and young people in Denmark diagnosed with mental disorders has tripled. Central to both the psychology of religion and existential psychology is the exploration of people’s search for meaning in life. Studies within these research fields point to high, significant correlations between crises of meaning and the occurrence of anxiety and depression. In this light, existential psychology and the psychology of religion become relevant perspectives to understand the increase in the diagnoses of mental disorders among young people. This area further constitutes an important field for closer examination due to the limited knowledge about existential conditions in young people’s lives in Denmark.

Objectives
The main goal of this Ph.D. project is to generate knowledge about how young people in a Danish context experience meaningfulness and crises of meaning, as well as the relationship between meaning in life and mental disorders among young people in Denmark. The objectives of the project are to estimate: The correlation between mental disorders on one side and meaningfulness and crises of meaning on the other side; the extent to which meaningfulness can be present in young people experiencing symptoms of depression; the extent to which the correlation between mental disorders and life satisfaction is mediated by crises of meaning.

Methods
Study 1 is based on a systematic review and quality assessment of previously developed questionnaires that measure existential, religious, and spiritual questions in children under 12 years old. Based on this literature study, it is concluded that there are no measurement tools of sufficient quality to conduct a quantitative study of existential, religious, and spiritual questions in children under 12 years old.
Study 2 involves the translation and validity testing of the Austrian-developed questionnaire “Meaning and Purpose Scales” (MAPS), which is aimed at the general population over 16 years old.
Study 3 uses two subscales from MAPS to measure meaningfulness and crises of meaning meaning in order to investigate the correlations between these and mental disorders in young people aged 18 to 25 years.

Project Progress
Data collection has been completed for all three sub-studies.
Study 1 has been completed, and the manuscript is currently under review at the journal Archive for the Psychology of Religion.
Study 2 has been completed, and the manuscript is expected to be submitted to the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology in September 2024.
Data analysis for study 3 is ongoing, and the manuscript is expected to be completed by the end of 2024
StatusActive
Effective start/end date01/09/202112/06/2025

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