Meaning of life in Iranian Adolescents: A Qualitative Study

Rahanandeh, Pardis; Haghani, Mojtaba; Boland, Hassan

doi:10.22034/jmp.2024.475021.1118

Meaning of life in Iranian Adolescents: A Qualitative Study

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Pardis Rahanandeh ¹

Mojtaba Haghani ²

Hassan Boland ³

¹ Master Graduate of Family Counseling, Department of Psychology, University of Allame Tabatabii, Tehran, Iran

² Phd Graduate, Department of Psychology, University of Allame Tabatabaii, Tehran, Iran

³ Professor, Department of Psychology , University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

10.22034/jmp.2024.475021.1118

Abstract

Objective: The construction of meaning in one’s life is a long endeavor. This small-scale exploratory study used a qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach involving in-depth online interviews to explore meaning in life for typically-developing Iranian adolescents.
Methods: The investigation was conducted over six months in 2020, using a purposive sampling method with three male and nine female participants. Although meaning in life is unique to each person, there were similarities in meaning across this small sample of adolescents. Data analysis used Van Manen’s six-step phenomenology method.
Results: The result revealed six main influences on the development of meaning—Ego-directed, Others-directed, Challenge-seeking, Spiritual, Future-directed, and Self-directed.
Conclusion: This study showed that the new generation on Iranian adoslescent is confronting a new pattern of meaning of life but at the same acquire a solution to fix it. Their solution is to integrate the different or even opposite side of what they experiencing, yet they are experiencing both hendonism and spiritual aspect in this regards.

Keywords

Adolescents

Interpretive Phenomenological Approach

Iranian

Meaning in Life

Subjects

Personality Psychology

Ahmadi, S., Heidari, M., Bagherian, F., & Kashfi, A. (2016). Adolescence and Development of Meaning: Comparing the Sources and Dimensions of Meaning in Life in Adolescent Boys and Girls. Clinical Psychology Studies, 6(23), 149-177. https://doi.org/10.22054/jcps.2016.4563

Alter, A. L., & Hershfield, H. E. (2014). People search for meaning when they approach a new decade in chronological age. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(48), 17066-17070. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1415086111

Arslan, G., & Allen, K. A. (2022). Exploring the association between coronavirus stress, meaning in life, psychological flexibility, and subjective well-being. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 27(4), 803-814. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2021.1876892

Aupers, S., & Houtman, D. (2006). Beyond the spiritual supermarket: The social and public significance of new age spirituality. Journal of contemporary religion, 21(2), 201-222. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537900600655894

Brassai, L., Piko, B. F., & Steger, M. F. (2012). Existential attitudes and Eastern European adolescents’ problem and health behaviors: Highlighting the role of the search for meaning in life. The Psychological Record, 62, 719-734. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395831

Ellis, A. (2001). Feeling better, getting better, staying better: Profound self-help therapy for your emotions. Impact Publishers.

Frankl, V. E. (1985). Man's search for meaning. Simon and Schuster.

Frankl, V. E. (2014). The will to meaning: Foundations and applications of logotherapy. Penguin.

Gawel, J. E. (2019). Herzberg's theory of motivation and Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 5(1), 11.

Glasser, W. (2005). Treating Mental Health as a Public Health Issue: A New Leadership Role for the Helping Professions. William Glasser Incorporated.

Gotlieb, R. J., Yang, X. F., & Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2024). Concrete and abstract dimensions of diverse adolescents’ social-emotional meaning-making, and associations with broader functioning. Journal of Adolescent Research, 39(5), 1224-1259. https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584221091498

Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. Handbook of qualitative research, 2(163-194), 105.

Heidarabadi, A., Farzaneh, S., & Khosravi, M. (2018). The Effect of Cultural Modernization on Marriage Process and Family Formation of University Students in Golestan Province. Population Studies, 4(1), 73-99.

Heine, S. J., Proulx, T., & Vohs, K. D. (2006). The meaning maintenance model: On the coherence of social motivations. Personality and social psychology review, 10(2), 88-110. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr1002_1

Hill, C. E., Bowers, G., Costello, A., England, J., Houston-Ludlam, A., Knowlton, G., ... & Thompson, B. J. (2013). What’s it all about? A qualitative study of undergraduate students’ beliefs about meaning of life. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 53(3), 386-414. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167813477733

Hoo, M. (2021). New Age in Australia: Social transmission and the quest for meaning. Social Compass, 68(4), 600-617. https://doi.org/10.1177/00377686211032966

Ivtzan, I., Chan, C. P., Gardner, H. E., & Prashar, K. (2013). Linking religion and spirituality with psychological well-being: Examining self-actualisation, meaning in life, and personal growth initiative. Journal of religion and health, 52, 915-929. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-011-9540-2

Kalashnikova, O., Leontiev, D., Rasskazova, E., & Taranenko, O. (2022). Meaning of life as a resource for coping with psychological crisis: Comparisons of suicidal and non-suicidal patients. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 957782. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.957782

King, L. A., Hicks, J. A., Krull, J. L., & Del Gaiso, A. K. (2006). Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life. Journal of personality and social psychology, 90(1), 179. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.1.179

Krok, D. (2018). When is meaning in life most beneficial to young people? Styles of meaning in life and well-being among late adolescents. Journal of adult development, 25, 96-106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-017-9280-y

Li, J. B., Salcuni, S., & Delvecchio, E. (2019). Meaning in life, self-control and psychological distress among adolescents: A cross-national study. Psychiatry research, 272, 122-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.033

Memar, R. (2017). Sociological investigation on the impact of religiousness and religious affiliation on political participation in iran: A macro-level analysis. Sociology of Social Institutions, 4(9), 253-283. https://doi.org/10.22080/SSI.2017.1566

Mokhtarpour, M., & Kiani, M. (2020). Theoretical Explanation of the Use of Cyberspace and the Evolution of Family Structure in Iran with Emphasis on the Concept of Generation Gap. Iranian Sociological Review, 10(3), 77-88.

Negru-Subtirica, O., Pop, E. I., Luyckx, K., Dezutter, J., & Steger, M. F. (2016). The meaningful identity: A longitudinal look at the interplay between identity and meaning in life in adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 52(11), 1926. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000176

Rajaee, A. R., Bayazi, M. H., & Habibipour, H. (2010). Basic religious beliefs, identity crisis, and general health in young adults. Journal of Developmental psychology, 6(22), 97-107.

Reker, G. T., & Woo, L. C. (2011). Personal meaning orientations and psychosocial adaptation in older adults. Sage Open, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244011405217

Remschmidt, H., & Belfer, M. (2005). Mental health care for children and adolescents worldwide: a review. World Psychiatry, 4(3), 147.

Schwartz, S. J., Luyckx, K., & Vignoles, V. L. (Eds.). (2011). Handbook of identity theory and research. Springer Science & Business Media. httos://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7988-9_2

Simon, B. (2008). Identity in modern society: A social psychological perspective. John Wiley & Sons.

Speziale, H. S., Streubert, H. J., & Carpenter, D. R. (2011). Qualitative research in nursing: Advancing the humanistic imperative. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Steger, M. F. (2012). Making meaning in life. Psychological Inquiry, 23(4), 381-385. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2012.720832

Steger, M. F., Kawabata, Y., Shimai, S., & Otake, K. (2008). The meaningful life in Japan and the United States: Levels and correlates of meaning in life. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(3), 660-678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2007.09.003

Steger, M. F., Oishi, S., & Kesebir, S. (2011). Is a life without meaning satisfying? The moderating role of the search for meaning in satisfaction with life judgments. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(3), 173-180. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2011.569171

Tavernier, R., & Willoughby, T. (2012). Adolescent turning points: The association between meaning-making and psychological well-being. Developmental psychology, 48(4), 1058. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026326

Thoits, P. A. (2012). Role-identity salience, purpose and meaning in life, and well-being among volunteers. Social psychology quarterly, 75(4), 360-384. https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272512459662

Van Manen, M. (2023). Phenomenology of practice: Meaning-giving methods in phenomenological research and writing. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003228073

Wadlington, W. (2012). The art of living in Otto Rank’s will therapy. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 72, 382-396. https://doi.org/10.1057/ajp.2012.25

Yalom, I. D. (2020). Existential psychotherapy. Hachette UK. (2020).