Measuring Purpose in Life in College Students: An Assessment of Invariance Properties by College Year and Undergraduate School
Ella Anghel , Larry Ludlow , Olivia Szendey , Christina Matz-Costa , Theresa O’Keefe , Henry Braun
Purpose in life is a key construct in the development of young adults, particularly college students. There are many instruments measuring sense of pu.
- Pub. date: November 15, 2021
- Pages: 603-614
- 490 Downloads
- 968 Views
- 3 Citations
Purpose in life is a key construct in the development of young adults, particularly college students. There are many instruments measuring sense of purpose in life, but few studies have examined their measurement properties among college students. The current study compares the measurement invariance properties of the Purpose in Life (PIL) scale and the Claremont Purpose Scale (CPS) across college year and undergraduate school. Using both a unidimensional and a two-dimensional model, we found that the PIL’s interpretability is limited among college students. Using a three-dimensional model, the CPS was invariant with respect to both grouping variables. The study suggests that the CPS can be used to make meaningful comparisons among college students categorized by school year and undergraduate school. The study also has some implications about the construct of purpose in life; namely, scale structures that work well statistically and theoretically among adults might not generalize to young adults.
Keywords: College students, confirmatory factor analysis, measurement invariance, purpose in life.
References
Ardelt, M., & Ferrari, M. (2019). Effects of wisdom and religiosity on subjective well-being in old age and young adulthood: Exploring the pathways through mastery and purpose in life. International Psychogeriatrics, 31(4), 477-489. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610218001680
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469
Arnoux-Nicolas, C., Sovet, L., Lhotellier, L., Baatouche, N., Bernaud, J. L., Lepez, S., & de la Faye, B. (2018). Meaning-centered career intervention for college students. In V. Cohen-Scali, J. Rossier, & L. Nota (Eds.), New perspectives on career counseling and guidance in Europe (pp. 133-146). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61476-2_9
Battersby, A., & Phillips, L. (2016). In the end it all makes sense: Meaning in life at either end of the adult lifespan. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 83(2), 184-204. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415016647731
Blattner, M. C. C., Liang, B., Lund, T., & Spencer, R. (2013). Searching for a sense of purpose: The role of parents and effects on self-esteem among female adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 36(5), 839–848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2013.06.008
Bowen, N. K., & Masa, R. D. (2015). Conducting measurement invariance tests with ordinal data: A guide for social work researchers. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 6(2), 229–249. https://doi.org/10.1086/681607
Bronk, K. C., Baumsteiger, R., Mangan, S., Riches, B., Dubon, V., Benavides, C., & Bono, G. (2019). Fostering purpose among young adults: Effective online interventions. Journal of Character Education, 15(2), 21–38.
Bronk, K. C., Riches, B. R., & Mangan, S. A. (2018). Claremont Purpose Scale: A measure that assesses the three dimensions of purpose among adolescents. Research in Human Development, 15(2), 101–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427609.2018.1441577
Bryant, F. B., Yarnold, P. R., & Michelson, E. A. (1999). Statistical methodology: VIII. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in emergency medicine research. Academic Emergency Medicine, 6(1), 54-66. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1553-2712.1999.tb00096.x
Burrow, A. L., & Hill, P. L. (2011). Purpose as a form of identity capital for positive youth adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 47(4), 1196–1206. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023818
Byrne, B. M., Shavelson, R. J., & Muthen, B. (1989). Testing for the equivalence of factor covariance and mean structures: The issue of partial measurement invariance. Psychological Bulletin, 105(3), 456–466. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.105.3.456
Chamberlain, K., & Zika, S. (1988). Measuring meaning in life: An examination of three scales. Personality and Individual Differences, 9(3), 589–596. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(88)90157-2
Chen, F. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14(3), 464–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701301834
Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 9(2), 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5
Crumbaugh, J. C., & Maholick, L. T. (1964). An experimental study in existentialism: The psychometric approach to Frankl’s concept of noogenic neurosis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 20(2), 200–207. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(196404)20:2<200::aid-jclp2270200203>3.0.co;2-u
Culver, J., & Lundquist Denton, M. (2017). Religious attachment and the sense of life purpose among emerging adults. Religions, 8(12), 274. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8120274
Damon, W. (2008). The path to purpose: Helping our children find their calling in life. Free Press.
Damon, W., Menon, J., & Bronk, K. C. (2003). The development of purpose during adolescence. Applied Developmental Science, 7(3), 119–128. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532480xads0703_2
DeWitz, S. J., Woolsey, M. L., & Walsh, W. B. (2009). College student retention: An exploration of the relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and purpose in life among college students. Journal of College Student Development, 50(1), 19–34. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.0.0049
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction With Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
Dimitrov, D. M. (2010). Testing for factorial invariance in the context of construct validation. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 43(2), 121–149. https://doi.org/10.1177/0748175610373459
Feldman, D. B., & Dreher, D. E. (2012). Can hope be changed in 90 minutes? Testing the efficacy of a single-session goal-pursuit intervention for college students. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13(4), 745–759. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9292-4
Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man’s search for meaning. Beacon Press.
García‐Alandete, J., de Tejada, B. G. H., Rodríguez, S. P., & Marco‐Salvador, J. H. (2019). Meaning in life among adolescents: Factorial invariance of the purpose in life test and buffering effect on the relationship between emotional dysregulation and hopelessness. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 26(1), 24–34. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2327
García-Alandete, J., Martínez, E. R., Sellés Nohales, P., & Soucase Lozano, B. (2018). Meaning in life and psychological well-being in Spanish emerging adults. Acta colombiana de Psicología, 21(1), 196-205. https://doi.org/10.14718/acp.2018.21.1.9
Glanzer, P. L., Hill, J. P., & Johnson, B. R. (2017). Quest for purpose: The collegiate search for a meaningful life. SUNY Press.
Glanzer, P. L., Hill, J. P., & Robinson, J. A. (2015). Emerging adults’ conceptions of purpose and the good life: A classification and comparison. Youth & Society, 50(6), 715-733. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X15602918
Hong, J. H., Talavera, D. C., Odafe, M. O., Barr, C. D., & Walker, R. L. (2018). Does purpose in life or ethnic identity moderate the association for racial discrimination and suicide ideation in racial/ethnic minority emerging adults?. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000245
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
Jonsén, E., Fagerström, L., Lundman, B., Nygren, B., Vähäkangas, M., & Strandberg, G. (2010). Psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Purpose in Life scale. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 24(1), 41–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2008.00682.x
Kadir, N. B. Y. A., & Mohd, R. H. (2021). The 5Cs of positive youth development, purpose in life, hope, and well-being among emerging adults in Malaysia. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.641876
Kim, E. S., Shiba, K., Boehm, J. K., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2020). Sense of purpose in life and five health behaviors in older adults. Preventive Medicine, 139, 106172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106172
Kyriazos, T. A. (2018). Applied psychometrics: Sample size and sample power considerations in Factor Analysis (EFA, CFA) and SEM in general. Psychology, 9(8), 2207–2230. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2018.98126
Liang, B., & Ketcham, S. G. (2017). Emerging adults’ perceptions of their faith-related purpose. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 9(Suppl 1), S22–S31. https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000116
Ludlow, L., O'Keefe, O., Braun, H., Anghel, E., Szendey, O., Matz-Costa, C., & Howell, B. (2022). An enhancement to theory and measurement of purpose. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 27, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.7275/c5jb-rr95
Lund, T. J., Liang, B., Konowitz, L., White, A. E., & DeSilva Mousseau, A. (2019). Quality over quantity?: Mentoring relationships and purpose development among college students. Psychology in the Schools, 56(9), 1472-1481. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22284
Malin, H., Reilly, T. S., Quinn, B., & Moran, S. (2014). Adolescent purpose development: Exploring empathy, discovering roles, shifting priorities, and creating pathways. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 24(1), 186–199. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12051
Marsh, A., Smith, L., Piek, J., & Saunders, B. (2003). The Purpose in Life Scale: Psychometric properties for social drinkers and drinkers in alcohol treatment. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63(5), 859–871. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164403251040
McKnight, P. E., & Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Purpose in life as a system that creates and sustains health and well-being: An integrative, testable theory. Review of General Psychology, 13(3), 242–251. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017152
Molasso, W. R. (2006). Exploring Frankl’s purpose in life with college students. Journal of College and Character, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.2202/1940-1639.1502
Morgan, J., & Farsides, T. (2009). Measuring meaning in life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10(2), 197–214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-007-9075-0
Pearson, M. R., Brown, D. B., Bravo, A. J., & Witkiewitz, K. (2015). Staying in the moment and finding purpose: The associations of trait mindfulness, decentering, and purpose in life with depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and alcohol-related problems. Mindfulness, 6(3), 645-653. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-014-0300-8
Pfund, G. N., Bono, T. J., & Hill, P. L. (2020). A higher goal during higher education: The power of purpose in life during university. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 6(2), 97-106. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000231
Praskova, A., Creed, P. A., & Hood, M. (2015). The development and initial validation of a career calling scale for emerging adults. Journal of Career Assessment, 23(1), 91-106. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072714523089
Putnick, D. L., & Bornstein, M. H. (2016). Measurement invariance conventions and reporting: The state of the art and future directions for psychological research. Developmental Review, 41, 71–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2016.06.004
Qin, D. B., Saltarelli, A., Rana, M., Bates, L., Lee, J. A., & Johnson, D. J. (2015). “My culture helps me make good decisions” Cultural adaptation of Sudanese refugee emerging adults. Journal of Adolescent Research, 30(2), 213-243. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558414547097
R Core Team. (2017). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing.
Rosseel, Y. (2012). lavaan: An R Package for structural equation modeling. Journal of Statistical Software, 48(2), 1–36. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v048.i02
Schulenberg, S. E., & Melton, A. M. A. (2010). A confirmatory factor-analytic evaluation of the purpose in life test: Preliminary psychometric support for a replicable two-factor model. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(1), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-008-9124-3
Sharma, G., & Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M. (2018). The relationship between college students’ sense of purpose and degree commitment. Journal of College Student Development, 59(4), 486–491. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2018.0045
Shin, J. Y. (2013). Improving first-year intervention strategies at universities by focusing on meaning and purpose in life (Doctoral dissertation, Colorado State University). ProQuest. https://bit.ly/3lRs3mr
Shin, J. Y., & Steger, M. F. (2014). Promoting meaning and purpose in life. In A. C. Parks & S. M. Schueller (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of positive psychological interventions (pp. 90–110). Wiley Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118315927.ch5
Su, T.-J., Chen, Y.-C., Chen, H.-F., Yang, Y.-S., & Hung, Y.-T. (2006). Factors related to meaning of life in Taiwanese women treated with in vitro fertilization. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, 105(5), 404–413. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0929-6646(09)60137-6
Sumner, R. (2017). More education, more purpose in life? A comparison of purpose across adults with different levels of education. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 12(1), 17-34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-016-9448-9
Yu, H., Glanzer, P., & Johnson, B. (2016). Do the ends strengthen the means? An examination of the link between purpose in life and academic misconduct among college students. Journal of College and Character, 17(4), 255-270. https://doi.org/10.1080/2194587X.2016.1230762
Yuliawati, L. (2021). Measurement Invariance of Claremont Purpose Scale across gender among Indonesian youth. Psychological Reports, 00332941211007043. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941211007043
Yuliawati, L., & Ardyan, E. (2020). The role of life planning in finding purpose and living out one’s career calling among Indonesian emerging adults. Journal of Career Development, 0894845320950834. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845320950834
Zhang, M. X., Mou, N. L., Tong, K. K., & Wu, A. (2018). Investigation of the effects of purpose in life, grit, gratitude, and school belonging on mental distress among Chinese emerging adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(10), 2147. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102147