A Study On Developing The Questionnair Of Personal Meaning In The Undergraduates And Its Preliminary Application

Recently Personal Meaning(PM) is one of the most popular topics in western psychological research, with a growing focus on positive psychological traits. However, there are few empirical researches relate to PM in China. What is the stucture of PM in China? Is it different from the western stucture? The university years are generally viewed as a time of major psychosocial growth. What is the stucture of PM of the undergraduates, What is the status in PM of the undergraduates, what factors influence PM of the undergraduates.? This recearch designed to answer these questions.Objective: This study was to develop Questionnaire of Personal Meaning in Undergraduates(QPMU), to explore the structure of PM in the undergraduates, and to investigate the PM in the undergraduates .Methods: Firstly, based on open-ended questionnaire investigation and interview with 115 undergraduates, 86 items collected for considered important by the undergraduates. Secondly, all items were judged by the undergraduates whether they were important for their meaningful life, and 5 items were deleted. Thirdly the researcher tested on 354 university students, deleted some unqualified items, explored the structure of PM in Undergraduate through Exploratory Factor Analysis ( EFA ) and examined the reliability and availability of the questionnaire. Fourthly, In the applied study, 970 undergraduates, who completed the QPMU, were evaluated the status in QPMU , and differences in demography variables and Identity Status.Results: (1) QPMU included 7 factors: goal pursuit, intimacy, acceptance and transcendence, self-affirmation, relationship, fair treatment and belief. The cumulative variance of seven factors contribute to the total variance is 56.73%.(2) The test of reliability showed, the homogeneity reliability of the QPMU was .95, the homogeneity reliability of each dimensions was between .70-.90, the test-retest reliability of the whole questionnaire was .72.(3) EFA and Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed the constructive validity of the QPMU was good. The correlation between the score of QPMU and Life Meaning Self-Assessment was .75 (p<.001) , the correlation between the score of QPMU and the Index of Welfare was .61, so the criterion-related validity of the questionnaire was good.(4)The investigation showed, the mean score of QPMU of the undergraduates was 5.43, at a moderate level; the PM of the undergraduates had a significant differences in gender and grade. The PM of the undergraduates had significant differences in the Identity Status, the health condition, the locus of family, the atmosphere of family, the students'organization involving and the experience on part-time jobs.Conclusion: (1) QPMU included 7 dimensions: goal pursuit, intimacy, acceptance and transcendence, self-affirmantion, relationship, fair treatment and belief. The scale was reliable and available(2) The general level of the PM in the undergraduates was at a moderate level; the PM in the undergraduates had a significant differences in gender and grade, the juniors had the lowest score on QPMU, the female was significant higher than male on the intimacy , the acceptance and transcendence, the male was significant higher than female on self-affirmation.(3) The Identity Status, the health condition,the locus of family,the atmosphere of family, the student'organization involving and the experience on part-time jobs had remarkable influence on the score of QPMU.Based on the preceding findings, some recommendations for students who found little PM were offered to universities and educational authorities.