Exploring Individual Intervention On Sense Of Meaning In Life Among College Students

Meaning in life is an important issue in positive psychology. It refers to people understanding the importance of their life, and perceiving that they have a goal, mission or purpose throughout lifetime. Meaning in life is one of the developmental tasks of college students and relates closely to their mental health, academic performance and subsequent career development. However, studies have shown that college students lack sense of meaning to some extent. Previous studies conducted on intervention on meaning were mostly for special groups, not for college students. And those interventions didn’t influence individual cognitive style. Among studies of individual intervention abroad, few succeeded. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to explore possible ways to effectively enhance individual sense of meaning in life.This study reviewed definition, measurement methods and sources of meaning in life. Study 1 surveyed characteristics of meaning in life of college students, providing reference for the design of subsequent individual intervention projects. Results showed that the status of college students’sense of meaning of life were desirable. Significant gender differences exsisted. And meaning in life positively related with their personal growth, relationships and social contributions. In study 2, after reconstructing activities of past day, three experimental groups were required to describe each activity in 5 W (who/when/where/what/how) ways, select three activities which made them happy and described the reason, or think over whether these activities were helpful for their personal growth, relationships and social contribution. Results showed that compared to the control group, three different interventions tested did not promote their sense of meaning of life significantly. In study 3, subjects were desired to set three personl goals to accomplish in the next week. Two interventions were attempted. Subjects were requested to think over and describe whether and why those goals could help to make them happy, or think and describe whether they could help to promote their personal growth and relationship in the progress. It was found that these two interventions do not work effectively. Finally, we discussed the significance and shortcomings of this study. Directions for future intervention efforts to promote a sense of meaning in life among college students were suggested.