Meaning of life and adjustment among Chinese adolescents with and without economic disadvantage

Abstract

Meaning in life in adolescents with and without economic disadvantage was examined in two studies. In Study 1, the relationship between meaning in life indexed by the Existential Well-Being Scale and adjustment of adolescents with and without economic disadvantage was examined in 1,519 Chinese adolescents. Results showed that adolescents with higher scores in the Existential Well-Being Scale had better psychological well-being and school adjustment and less problem behavior (including substance abuse and delinquency), and the relationship was stronger in adolescents with economic disadvantage than in adolescents without economic disadvantage. In Study 2, life meaning in 12 Chinese adolescents with economic disadvantage was explored via qualitative interviews. Results showed that poor adolescents derived life meaning from different sources and money was not an important factor in the origin of life meaning in poor adolescents. Adolescents who placed greater emphasis on the importance on money tended to have poorer psychosocial adjustment. Adolescents who felt their lives to be controlled by fate rather by themselves generally showed poorer adjustment.