2019 Volume 32 Issue 1 Pages 1-11
The ‘meaning in life’ has been associated with subjective happiness across the lifespan. This study was designed to investigate the factor structure, levels, and correlates of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) containing two subscales–presence of the meaning in life, and the search for meaning – among Japanese adults (n=2,000). The questionnaire was completed via an Internet survey by respondents in four life stages: emerging adulthood, young adulthood, middle-age adulthood, and older adulthood. A multigroup confirmatory factor analysis across the groups supported the two-factor model and the structural invariance of the MLQ. In general, those in later life stages displayed a greater level of presence of meaning in life, which was strongly associated with subjective happiness. A higher level of search for meaning was also displayed by those in later life stages, even though its association with subjective happiness was rather weak. The latter finding regarding the search for meaning conflicted with previous findings in US samples. These findings suggest that the Japanese version of MLQ is a useful instrument for future research and that further investigation of the dynamic role of the meaning in life across the lifespan among culturally diverse samples would be highly desirable.
