Purpose in life protects against the development of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in U.S. veterans without a history of suicidality: A 10-year, nationally representative, longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts (STBs) in veterans without an endorsed history of STBs and identify baseline predictors of these outcomes over a 10-year period. METHODS: Population-based prospective cohort study of 2307 US military veterans using five waves of the 2011-2021 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Baseline data were collected in 2011, with follow-up assessments conducted 2-(2013), 4-(2015), 7-(2018), and 10-years (2021) later. RESULTS: In total, 10.1 % (N = 203) of veterans endorsed incident suicidal ideation (SI) over the 10-year period and 3.0 % (N = 55) endorsed an incident suicide attempt (SA). Multivariable regression analyses revealed the following baseline predictors of incident SI: lower annual household income, current posttraumatic stress disorder, current alcohol use disorder (AUD), disability with activities of daily living (i.e., ADLs) or instrumental activities of daily living (i.e., IADLs), lower perceived social support, lower community integration, and lower purpose in life. Current AUD, greater cumulative trauma burden, and lower purpose in life at baseline were predictive of incident SA. Relative importance analyses revealed that lower purpose in life was the strongest predictor of both incident SI and SA. CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial determinants of health, such as purpose in life, may be more reliable predictors of incident suicidal thoughts and behaviors than traditional risk factors (e.g., psychiatric distress; history of SA) in those without a history of STBs. Evidence-based interventions that facilitate purpose in life and feelings of connectedness and belonging should be examined as possible treatments for STBs.

Collective Efficacy and Perceived COVID-19 Severity Predict Preparedness and Response Behaviors: A Longitudinal Study of Intersectionally Vulnerable University Students.

OBJECTIVE: To promote equity for intersectionally disaster-vulnerable individuals and address three literature gaps: (1) incremental effects of collective and self-efficacy as preparedness predictors, (2) differentiation of fear and perceived severity of a disaster, and (3) clarification of the relationship between fear and preparedness. METHODS: Due to infection risks associated with communal housing, early in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many universities permitted students to remain in campus housing only if they were housing insecure, including many international students. We surveyed intersectionally-vulnerable students and their partners at a southeast US university, N = 54, who were international (77.8%), Asian (55.6%), and/or housing insecure at baseline (79.6%). In 14 waves from May-October 2020, we assessed pandemic preparedness/response behaviors (PPRBs) and potential PPRB predictors. RESULTS: We examined within- and between-person effects of fear, perceived severity, collective efficacy, and self-efficacy on PPRBs. Within-person perceived severity and collective efficacy both significantly, positively predicted greater PPRBs. All effects of fear and self-efficacy were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived severity and confidence that one's actions positively impact one's community fluctuated throughout the pandemic and are linked to greater PPRB engagement. Public health messages and interventions to improve PPRB may benefit from emphasizing collective efficacy and accuracy over fear.

Is Humor a Meaning Making Process? Investigating the Effects of Absurd Humor and Mortality Salience on Meaning in Life, Moral Identity, Belongingness, and Belief in a Just World.

Both mortality salience and absurd humor have been found to elicit fluid compensation - the automatic process of strengthening unrelated beliefs in response to a meaning threat. Previous research has suggested that perceiving absurd humor to be funny decreases people's tendency to fluid compensate, suggesting that humor is a meaning-making process. However, these results may have been confounded by mortality salience effects. Furthermore, few studies have investigated the effects of absurd humor and mortality salience on multiple beliefs. In the current study, we aimed to conceptually replicate previous research on the fluid compensatory effects of absurd humor and mortality salience under more stringent conditions and in response to a wider variety of beliefs. Participants (N = 590) recruited via MTurk were randomly assigned to a reading condition and thereafter completed a series of measures of meaning in life, moral identity, belongingness, and belief in a just world. Participants found humor in each reading condition and did not fluid compensate, suggesting that humor is a meaning-making process. Implications and directions for meaning making and humor research are discussed.

Purpose in life and physical health in older U.S. military veterans: Cross-sectional results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

General population studies suggest purpose in life (PIL) is associated with a number of positive outcomes, including better mental and physical health. At present, however, scarce research has examined how PIL relates to these outcomes in veterans. The goal of this study was to determine the current prevalence of different levels of PIL and their associations with reported physical health in a nationally representative sample of predominantly older U.S. veterans. Cross-sectional data were analyzed from the 2019-2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (N = 4069; M(age) = 62.2). Veterans were classified into low, average, and high PIL. Self-report assessments were administered to assess physical health conditions and physical functioning. Results showed most veterans endorsed average PIL (71.7%), while 16.0% endorsed low PIL and 12.3% endorsed high PIL. Low PIL was associated with lower overall self-reported health and physical and cognitive functioning, as well as higher bodily pain, somatic symptoms, and physical role limitations (Cohen's d = 0.06-0.77). Low PIL was also associated with elevated rates of several physical health conditions, including sleep disorders, as well as obesity and disability with activities of daily living (i.e., ADLs) or instrumental activities of daily living (i.e., IADLs). These results suggest low PIL is associated with physical health difficulties, and underscore the importance of assessing and monitoring PIL, and evaluating whether interventions to promote PIL may help improve physical health and vice versa.

Identifying significant correlates of purpose in life in older US military veterans: results from the national health and resilience in veterans study.

OBJECTIVE: Perceived purpose in life (PIL) has been linked to a broad range of adverse physical, mental, and cognitive outcomes. However, limited research has examined factors associated with PIL that can be targeted in prevention and treatment efforts in aging populations at heightened risk of adverse outcomes. Using data from predominantly older US veterans, we sought to identify important correlates of PIL. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were analyzed from the 2019-2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of 4069 US military veterans (Mage = 62.2). Elastic net and relative importance analyses were conducted to evaluate sociodemographic, military, health, and psychosocial variables that were strongly associated with PIL. RESULTS: Of the 39 variables entered into an elastic net analysis, 10 were identified as significant correlates of PIL. In order of magnitude, these were resilience (18.7% relative variance explained [RVE]), optimism (12.1%), depressive symptoms (11.3%), community integration (10.7%), gratitude (10.2%), loneliness (9.8%), received social support (8.6%), conscientiousness (8.5%), openness to experience (5.4%), and intrinsic religiosity (4.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Several modifiable psychosocial factors emerged as significant correlates of PIL in US military veterans. Interventions designed to target these factors may help increase PIL and mitigate risk for adverse health outcomes in this population.

Perceived meaning, pandemic self-efficacy, social support, and discrimination predict trajectories of peri-pandemic growth and distress for international students.

OBJECTIVE: International students face unique COVID-19-related stressors, such as financial aid loss, limited social support, and discrimination (e.g., verbal harassment, physical assault). Additionally, pandemic and chronic stress research is largely cross-sectional, and trajectories over time remain unclear for psychological and environmental factors predicting distress and peri-pandemic growth. Accordingly, the current study examined trajectories of psychological distress and growth, as well as weekly psychological and environmental predictors of psychological distress and growth, in international students during the early stages of the pandemic. METHOD: International students (N = 42) at a U.S. university were surveyed weekly for 14 weeks. RESULTS: Latent growth mixture modeling resulted in three trajectories over time of distress (Minimal Impact, Emergent Resilience, and Increasing Distress) and peri-pandemic growth (Limited PrTG, Decreasing PrTG, and Increasing PrTG). For multilevel models, within-person increases in meaning and self-efficacy as well as between-person changes in discrimination and emotional social support predicted distress. Within-person changes in meaning and self-efficacy and between-person changes in self-efficacy and discrimination predicted peri-pandemic growth. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the stressors they face, many international students demonstrated a trajectory of resilience. Positive coping factors and environmental factors predicted distress or peri-pandemic growth, which can inform interventions and studies examining trajectories of distress during prolonged adversity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Perceived Purpose in Life, Mental Health, and Suicidality in Older U.S. Military Veterans: Results From the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the current prevalence of perceived purpose in life (PIL) and its association with screening positive for mental disorders and suicidality in a nationally representative sample of predominantly older U.S. veterans. METHODS: Data were analyzed from the 2019-2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (N = 4,069; Mage = 62.2). Veterans were classified into three groups based on perceived PIL level (i.e., low, average, and high). Self-report assessments were administered to screen for mental disorders and suicidality. RESULTS: Most veterans endorsed average PIL (71.7%), while 16.0% endorsed low PIL and 12.4% endorsed high PIL. A "dose-response" association was observed between PIL and outcomes. High PIL was associated with 42%-94% reduced odds of screening positive for major depressive, generalized anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and substance use disorders, as well as suicide attempts, ideation, and future intent. CONCLUSION: Higher PIL is associated with lower odds of mental disorders and suicidality in U.S. veterans, underscoring the potential importance of interventions to bolster PIL in this population.

A Spanish Adaptation and Validation of the Purpose in Life Test - Short Form (PIL-SF) / Adaptación y Validación al español del Test Breve de Propósito en la Vida (PIL Breve)

Abstract The distinction between meaning and purpose in life remains an ongoing debate in the empirical and theoretical literature; even so, there is general consensus in defining purpose in life as goal-directedness towards living a more meaningful life. Scales measuring this goal-directedness, specifically, rather than broad measures of meaning, are necessary to further this vein of research. The Purpose in Life Test (PIL), developed by Crumbaugh and Maholick in the 1960s, has been shown to be a valid instrument for measuring meaning and purpose. Four of the 20 items composing the PIL comprise the English Purpose in Life Test-Short Form (PIL-SF; Schulenberg et al., 2011), which have demonstrated greater internal coherence and greater precision for evaluating goal-directed purpose in life, specifically. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and factor structure of the Spanish PIL-SF. This validation involved two different samples of university students: sample A (N = 368) and sample B (. = 336). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a 1-factor model, and reliability of the items was excellent. Results suggest that the Spanish PIL-SF is a valid and reliable measure of purpose in life, comparable to the English language PIL-SF.

Resumen Distinguir entre sentido y propósito en la vida, sigue siendo un debate filosófico y empírico en la literatura especializada. El direccionamiento a las metas para vivir una vida más significativa y existencial parece ser una de las características distintivas del propósito. Para desarrollarse, esta línea investigativa necesita cuestionarios que midan específicamente la orientación a las metas, en lugar de la mera asignación de sentido y/o significado. El Purpose in Life Test (PIL), desarrollado por Crumbaugh y Maholick en la década de 1960, ha demostrado ser un instrumento válido para medir significado y propósito. Recientemente se observó que 4 de sus 20 ítems informaron mayor coherencia interna y mayor precisión para evaluar la orientación a la meta como característica del propósito. Estos hallazgos derivaron en una versión abreviada de la técnica denominada Purpose in Life Test Short Form (PIL-SF; Schulenberg et al., 2011). El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar la confiabilidad y la estructura factorial del PIL-SF en el contexto argentino. Esta validación involucró dos muestras diferentes de estudiantes universitarios: muestra A (N = 368) y muestra B (N = 336). El análisis factorial confirmatorio (CFA) apoyó un modelo unifactorial y la confiabilidad de los ítems fue excelente. Los resultados sugieren que el PIL-SF en español es una medida válida y confiable del propósito en la vida, comparable al PIL-SF en inglés.

Validating military culture: The factor analysis of a military-related adaptation of acculturation in veterans.

Differences between military and civilian culture can impact a veteran's ability to effectively navigate the transition to the civilian setting after separating from military service. However, systems providing psychological services to veterans lack reliable and valid methods of identifying the extent to which the dissonance between military and civilian cultures is associated with postseparation adjustment (e.g., ability to integrate profound deployment experiences into civilian life) and psychological outcomes. Utilization of a theory-driven, acculturation framework to assess military and civilian cultural affiliation may address this gap. While several quantitative measures exist for evaluating acculturation in reference to different ethnocultural experiences and that evaluate military culture-related adjustment or reintegration, there are no existing validated measures rooted in cultural theory that explicitly assess military-related acculturation. The aim of the present study was to develop and examine the psychometric properties of theoretically grounded, military-related adaptations of validated acculturation measures. Data from 364 veterans were collected with an online survey including four military-related adaptations of acculturation measures. Results suggest that the proposed adaptation of the original ethnocultural measurement model was not a good fit to the data, χ² = 2396.99, p < .001, TLI = .73. An evaluation of localized areas of strain in the confirmatory model and results from an exploratory factor analysis suggest support for the continued development of a military-related model of acculturation after considering further measure restructuring and validation. Opportunities for future research and measure validation are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining daily-level associations between nightly alcohol use and next-day valued behavior in college students.

ObjectiveAdverse consequences of binge drinking episodes are well-established, but fewer studies have investigated how incremental changes in daily alcohol use relate to well-being. We examined within- and between-person associations in alcohol use and next-day valued living to enhance our understanding of the impact of alcohol use on following-day outcomes in college students. Participants. During November 2018, 73 undergraduate participants (65.7% female) completed surveys through Qualtrics. Method: Using daily diary methodology, participants completed nightly surveys (N = 784) on their cellular devices over a two-week period. Results: Within-participant variations in evening alcohol use demonstrated a negative linear association with next-day valued living, controlling for relevant variables. Conclusions: Findings supplement other studies demonstrating the impact of individual variability in alcohol use on engagement in valued behaviors. Knowledge of the hazards of alcohol use within the context of valued living has the potential to inform alcohol use prevention and intervention programs.

Advocating for the Use of Restorative Justice Practices: Examining the Overlap between Restorative Justice and Behavior Analysis.

Broadly defined, restorative justice (RJ) is a set of procedures based in Indigenous peacemaking practices that reduces recidivism and guides the effective reparation of harm. RJ practices provide harm-affected parties an opportunity for engagement in the resolution process, which theoretically enhances community well-being. RJ practices overlap significantly with behavior-analytic principles. Implementing RJ practices from a context-focused, appetitive-based approach that focuses on classes of behaviors may address harmful behaviors within police organizations. RJ practices may also facilitate changes in contexts that support behaviors valued by the community. The current review discusses criminal and restorative justice, RJ processes and practices, the effectiveness of RJ in various contexts, how RJ overlaps with behavior-analytic principles and existing behavior science models in general, research suggestions, and recommendations for behavior analysts implementing RJ within police organizations and communities to address officer misconduct.

Answering the call of COVID-19: An integrated mental health response considering education, training, research, and service.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a call that psychologists must answer with a dynamic, integrated mental health response that incorporates public education and dissemination, training, research, and service. These areas are central components to our mission at the Clinical-Disaster Research Center, housed in the Department of Psychology at the University of Mississippi and part of the university's doctoral training program in clinical psychology. We discuss some of our efforts in each of these areas in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the hope that the information may be of use to psychologists assuming a range of professional responsibilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Meaning, social support, and resilience as predictors of posttraumatic growth: A study of the Louisiana flooding of August 2016.

Individuals who survive natural hazards often develop posttraumatic stress symptoms or other forms of psychological distress. However, some experience psychological growth. Given that natural hazards will increase in the near future due to global warming, it would be helpful to examine predictors of growth across different kinds of natural hazards. The present study examined positive psychological factors that may serve as buffers against the negative effects of exposure to a natural hazard, specifically following the Louisiana flooding of August 2016. Volunteer participants (N = 120) self-reported perceived presence and search for meaning in life, social support, resilience, and posttraumatic growth (PTG). After controlling for amount of property damaged, posttraumatic stress symptoms, gender, religion, and ethnicity or race, presence and search for meaning, social support, and resilience explained significant additional variance in PTG scores. This research adds to the growing understanding of how individuals respond to natural hazards. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Natural disaster preparedness in college students: Implications for institutions of higher learning.

OBJECTIVE: There is growing interest in the effectiveness of disaster preparedness at universities. Although several studies have examined student preparedness perceptions, a better understanding of factors that may influence actual preparedness is needed. PARTICIPANTS: Seven hundred sixty-five undergraduate and graduate students at a southeastern U.S. university completed an online survey in September 2013. METHODS: Participants were administered an online survey that included questions regarding disaster preparedness and their experiences with disasters. RESULTS: Students' disaster concern was more related to perceived preparedness over actual preparedness; disaster experience significantly predicted both actual and perceived preparedness. Perceived university preparedness was a significant predictor of disaster concern. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that perceived and actual preparedness are related but not entirely equivalent, which emphasizes the importance of differentiating the two constructs. Limitations of the current study and recommendations for future research are provided.

Disaster Mental Health and Positive Psychology-Considering the Context of Natural and Technological Disasters: An Introduction to the Special Issue.

This article serves as an introduction to the Journal of Clinical Psychology's special issue on disaster mental health and positive psychology. The special issue comprises two sections. The first section presents a series of data-driven articles and research-informed reviews examining meaning and resilience in the context of natural and technological disasters. The second section presents key topics in the area of disaster mental health, with particular relevance for positive psychology and related frameworks. The special issue is intended to bridge the gap between these two areas of applied science, with the audience being experienced clinicians or clinicians in training.

Meaning and Posttraumatic Growth Among Survivors of the September 2013 Colorado Floods.

In the wake of significant adversity, a range of recovery outcomes are possible, from prolonged distress to minimal effects on functioning and even psychological growth. Finding meaning in one's life is thought to facilitate optimal recovery from such adversity. Research on psychological growth and recovery often focuses on the daily hassles or significant traumas of convenience samples or on people's psychological recovery from medical illness. A small body of research is developing to test theories of growth among survivors of natural disasters. The present study of 57 survivors of the 2013 Colorado floods tested the incremental relations between posttraumatic growth (PTG) and dimensions of meaning in life, vitality, and perceived social support. The most consistent relations observed were among the one dimension of meaning-search for meaning-perceived social support, and PTG. Despite the limitations of this study, we conclude that search for meaning in life may be an important part of recovery from natural disasters, floods being one example.

Rasch analysis of measurement instruments capturing psychological personal factors in persons with spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the metric properties of distinct measures of psychological personal factors comprising feelings, beliefs, motives, and patterns of experience and behaviour assessed in the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study (SwiSCI), using Rasch methodology. METHODS: SwiSCI Pathway 2 is a community-based, nationwide, cross-sectional survey for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) (n = 511). The Rasch partial credit model was used for each subscale of the Positive Affect Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), Appraisal of Life Events Scale (ALE), Purpose in Life test - Short Form (PIL-SF), and the Big Five Inventory-K (BFI-K). RESULTS: The measures were unidimensional, with the exception of the positive affect items of the PANAS, where pairwise t-tests resulted in 10% significant cases, indicating multidimensionality. The BFI-K subscale agreeableness revealed low reliability (0.53). Other reliability estimates ranged between 0.61 and 0.89. Ceiling and floor effects were found for most measures. SCI-related differential item functioning (DIF) was rarely found. Language DIF was identified for several items of the BFI-K, PANAS and the ALE, but not for the PIL-SF. CONCLUSION: A majority of the measures satisfy the assumptions of the Rasch model, including unidimensionality. Invariance across language versions still represents a major challenge.

Assessment of Meaning in Adolescents Receiving Clinical Services in Mississippi Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: An Application of the Purpose in Life Test-Short Form (PIL-SF).

OBJECTIVES: This study's purpose was to assess perceived meaning in adolescents. Specifically, our goals were to examine the psychometric properties of the Purpose in Life test-Short Form (PIL-SF) and its ability to predict psychological outcomes in an adolescent sample. METHOD: Aspects of well-being (self-efficacy, life satisfaction, and resilience) and psychological distress (posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and general stress) were assessed in a sample of adolescents (N = 91; 58.2% female; mean age = 14.89) receiving clinical services following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. RESULTS: Meaning was positively associated with life satisfaction, self-efficacy, and resilience, and negatively associated with posttraumatic stress and depression. Meaning was not significantly related to anxiety or general stress. Females reported significantly more meaning than males, while no significant differences were noted by race/ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: The PIL-SF is a useful measure with adolescents. Moreover, meaning is an important concept to consider with respect to disasters.

Meaning, Resilience, and Traumatic Stress After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: A Study of Mississippi Coastal Residents Seeking Mental Health Services.

The present study examines the relationship between resilience, perceived meaning in life, and traumatic stress symptoms among coastal residents of Mississippi directly affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also known as the Gulf oil spill). The study was conducted as part of a larger project that assessed the spill's effect on the mental health of individuals seeking therapeutic services. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine if resilience and perceived meaning are significant predictors of scores from a measure of posttraumatic stress. Descriptive data, reliability coefficients, and correlations were also calculated. Higher levels of resilience and meaning together were predictive of fewer posttraumatic stress symptoms after controlling for the effect of the spill. Resilience and meaning appeared to be similar predictors of lower posttraumatic stress scores, and meaning appears to be an important facet of what makes a person resilient.

Measuring resilience with the RS-14: a tale of two samples.

The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the psychometric properties of the 14-item Resilience Scale (RS-14; Wagnild, 2009a). Exploratory and confirmatory factor-analytic methods were employed, including an analysis of measurement invariance models by sex and race/ethnicity. Descriptive statistics, reliability, and validity data were also calculated. Analyses were based on 2 samples, one made up of individuals seeking mental health services following the 2010 Gulf oil spill (N = 1,032) and the other made up of university students (N = 1,765). For both samples, all items loaded (>.30) onto 1 factor, indicating cohesive structure for a 1-factor model explaining 53.2% of the variance in the clinical sample and 67.6% of the variance in the undergraduate sample. Further, the examination of measurement invariance indicated that the RS-14 was similarly structured for sex and race/ethnicity. Reliability coefficients exceeded.90 for both samples and also when data were examined by comparison groups. The RS-14 correlated significantly and as expected with measures of positive concepts (such as perceived meaning in life and satisfaction with life) and indexes of psychological distress (such as depression, anxiety, stress, and posttraumatic stress). These data support the utility of the RS-14 with clinical and undergraduate student samples. Implications for these data are discussed.