Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Meaning in Life Trajectories Among College Students: Differential Effects of a Mentoring Program

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Happiness Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Cultivating a sense of meaning in life (MIL) is a critical task for emerging adults that can be fostered through engagement in prosocial activities like mentoring at-risk youth. While mentoring may promote MIL for some, the potential benefits likely vary. This study explored trajectories and predictors of change in MIL in 641 college student mentors of at-risk youth who participated in a 12-week mentoring program. Three unique trajectories were identified (1) a class exhibiting stable, high levels of MIL (high class, 86%), (2) a class exhibiting the lowest initial levels of MIL that increased over time (increasing class, 5%), and (3) a class exhibiting decreased MIL (decreasing class, 8%). Results indicated mentors’ adverse experiences, role self-efficacy, and the quality of the mentor–mentee relationship were associated with unique change trajectories. Results indicate heterogeneity in the process of deriving MIL, with certain individuals benefitting more than others from serving as a mentor.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code Availability

The code utilized in the current study is not publicly available but is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  • Antonovsky, A. (1991). The structural sources of salutogenic strengths. In C. L. Cooper & R. Payne (Eds.), Wiley series on studies in occupational stress. Personality and stress: Individual differences in the stress process (pp. 67–104). Wiley.

  • Antonovsky, A. (1993). The structure and properties of the sense of coherence scale. Social Science & Medicine, 36(6), 725–733. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(93)90033-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. (2014). Auxiliary variables in mixture modeling: Three-step approaches using M plus. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 21(3), 329–341. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2014.915181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (2010). Self-efficacy. The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470479216.corpsy0836

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, D. (1997). An overview (and underview) of research and theory within the attraction paradigm. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 14, 417–431. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407597143008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chesmore, A. A., Weiler, L. M., & Taussig, H. N. (2017). Mentoring relationship quality and maltreated children’s coping. American Journal of Community Psychology, 60(1–2), 229–241. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delle Fave, A., Brdar, I., Freire, T., Vella-Brodrick, D., & Wissing, M. P. (2011). The eudaimonic and hedonic components of happiness: Qualitative and quantitative findings. Social Indicators Research, 100(2), 185–207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-010-9632-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devendorf, S. A., & Highhouse, S. (2008). Applicant–employee similarity and attraction to an employer. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 81(4), 607–617. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317907X248842

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eakman, A. M. (2013). Relationships between meaningful activity, basic psychological needs, and meaning in life: Test of the meaningful activity and life meaning model. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 33(2), 100–109. https://doi.org/10.3928/15394492-20130222-02

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eby, L. T., Butts, M. M., Durley, J., & Ragins, B. R. (2010). Are bad experiences stronger than good ones in mentoring relationships? Evidence from the protégé and mentor perspective. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77(1), 81–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.02.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eby, L. T., Durley, J. R., Evans, S. C., & Ragins, B. R. (2008). Mentors’ perceptions of negative mentoring experiences: Scale development and nomological validation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(2), 358–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eby, L. T. T., Allen, T. D., Hoffman, B. J., Baranik, L. E., Sauer, J. B., Baldwin, S., et al. (2013). An interdisciplinary meta-analysis of the potential antecedents, correlates, and consequences of protégé perceptions of mentoring. Psychological Bulletin, 139(2), 441–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fouad, N. A., Ghosh, A., Chang, W. H., Figueiredo, C., & Bachhuber, T. (2016). Career exploration among college students. Journal of College Student Development, 57(4), 460–464. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2016.0047

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George, L. S., & Park, C. L. (2016). Meaning in life as comprehension, purpose, and mattering: Toward integration and new research questions. Review of General Psychology, 20(3), 205–220. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000077

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heintzelman, S. J., & King, L. A. (2019). Routines and meaning in life. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(5), 688–699. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218795133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, K. L., Lovegrove, P. J., Steger, M. F., Chen, P. Y., Cigularov, K. P., & Tomazic, R. G. (2014). The potential role of meaning in life in the relationship between bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(2), 221–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrera, C., DuBois, D. L., & Grossman, J. B. (2013). The role of risk: Mentoring experiences and outcomes for youth with varying risk profiles. New York, NY: A Public/Private Ventures project distributed by MDRC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hicks, J. A., & King, L. A. (2009). Positive mood and social relatedness as information about meaning in life. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6), 471–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janoff-Bulman, R., & Yopyk, D. J. (2004). Random outcomes and valued commitments. Handbook of experimental existential psychology, 122–138.

  • Jones, S. R., & Abes, E. S. (2013). Identity development of college students: Advancing frameworks for multiple dimensions of identity. Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennett, P., & Lomas, T. (2015). Making meaning through mentoring: Mentors finding fulfilment at work through self-determination and self-reflection. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 13(2), 29–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Knoche, L. L., & Zamboanga, B. L. (2006). College student mentors and Latino youth: A qualitative study of the mentoring relationship. The Qualitative Report, 11(1), 138–160

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, N. M., Stillman, T. F., Hicks, J. A., Kamble, S., Baumeister, R. F., & Fincham, F. D. (2013). To belong is to matter. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(11), 1418–1427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lent, R. W., Ezeofor, I., Morrison, M. A., Penn, L. T., & Ireland, G. W. (2016). Applying the social cognitive model of career self-management to career exploration and decision-making. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 93, 47–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.12.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martela, F., Ryan, R. M., & Steger, M. F. (2018). Meaningfulness as satisfaction of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence: Comparing the four satisfactions and positive affect as predictors of meaning in life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 19(5), 1261–1282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9869-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martela, F., & Steger, M. F. (2016). The three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance. The Journal of Positive Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1137623

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B. (2001). Second-generation structural equation modeling with a combination of categorical and continuous latent variables: New opportunities for latent class-latent growth modeling. In L.M. Collins & A.G. Sayer (Eds.), New methods for the analysis of change (pp. 291–322). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10409-010

  • Muthén, B. O. (2018). Mplus (Version 8.1)[Computer program]. Muthén & Muthén.

  • Muthén, B., Brown, C. H., Masyn, K., Jo, B., Khoo, S. T., Yang, C. C., Wang, C. P., Kellam, S. G., Carlin, J. B., & Liao, J. (2002). General growth mixture modeling for randomized preventive interventions. Biostatistics, 3(4), 459–475. https://doi.org/10.1093/biostatistics/3.4.459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1978). Psychometric theory. (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nylund, K. L., Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2007). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14(4), 535–569. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701575396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nylund-Gibson, K., & Choi, A. Y. (2018). Ten frequently asked questions about latent class analysis. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 4(4), 440–461. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: an integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 257–301. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, C. L. (2016). Meaning making in the context of disasters. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 72(12), 1234–1246. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raposa, E. B., Rhodes, J. E., & Herrera, C. (2016). The impact of youth risk on mentoring relationship quality: Do mentor characteristics matter? American Journal of Community Psychology, 57(3–4), 320–329. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12057

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riggs, M. L., Warka, J., Babasa, B., Betancourt, R., & Hooker, S. (1994). Development and validation of self-efficacy and outcome expectancy scales for job-related applications. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 54(3), 793–802. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164494054003026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosso, B. D., Dekas, K. H., & Wrzesniewski, A. (2010). On the meaning of work: A theoretical integration and review. Research in Organizational Behavior, 30, 91–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2010.09.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). The darker and brighter sides of human existence: Basic psychological needs as a unifying concept. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 319–338. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_03

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford Publications. https://doi.org/10.1521/978.14625/28806

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steger, F. M., & Samman, E. (2012). Assessing meaning in life on an international scale. International Journal of Wellbeing, 2(3), 182–195. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v2.i3.2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steger, M. F. (2012). Experiencing meaning in life: Optimal functioning at the nexus of well-being, psychopathology, and spirituality In P. T. P. Wong & P. S. Fry (Eds.), Handbook of personal meaning: Theory, research, and application (2nd ed., pp. 165–184). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum.

  • Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stillman, T. F., & Lambert, N. M. (2013). The bidirectional relationship of meaning and belonging. In The experience of meaning in Life (pp. 305–315). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6527-6_23

  • Thompson, E., & Feldman, D. B. (2010). Let your life speak: Assessing the effectiveness of a program to explore meaning, purpose, and calling with college students. Journal of Employment Counseling, 47(1), 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1920.2010.tb00086.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tofighi, D., & Enders, C. K. (2008). Identifying the correct number of classes in growth mixture models. Advances in Latent Variable Mixture Models, 2007, 317–341

    Google Scholar 

  • Van den Broeck, A., Ferris, D. L., Chang, C.-H., & Rosen, C. C. (2016). A review of self-determination theory’s basic psychological needs at work. Journal of Management, 42(5), 1195–1229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vansteenkiste, M., & Ryan, R. M. (2013). On psychological growth and vulnerability: basic psychological need satisfaction and need frustration as a unifying principle. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 23(3), 263. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weinstein, N., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2012). Motivation, meaning, and wellness: A self-determination perspective on the creation and internalization of personal meanings and life goals. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed., pp. 81–106). New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The work described in this manuscript was generously supported by the William T. Grant Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Meaning and Purpose, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Jessica L. Morse

  2. Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Jessica L. Morse, Hyanghee Lee & Kimberly L. Henry

  3. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Shelley A. Haddock

Authors
  1. Jessica L. Morse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hyanghee Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shelley A. Haddock
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kimberly L. Henry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica L. Morse.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

S.A.H. has a financial interest in Campus Connections and receives a royalty when the program is licensed and sold to interested parties (e.g., Universities). The authors declare no other potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Morse, J.L., Lee, H., Haddock, S.A. et al. Meaning in Life Trajectories Among College Students: Differential Effects of a Mentoring Program. J Happiness Stud 23, 285–302 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00399-w

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00399-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation