Effects of personal meaning among patients in primary and specialized care: Associations with psychosocial and physical outcomes

Abstract

Personal meaning is thought to serve as an important resource among individuals adapting to the demands of illness. However, some work in this area has been marked by vague conceptualization, or use of assessment instruments that are confounded by well-being. This investigation evaluated relationships between psychosocial and physical outcomes and one theoretically important dimension of attained global meaning – perceptions of life purpose and commitment. Study 1 evaluated 175 patients followed in a primary care gynaecological practice. Study 2 assessed 104 cancer patients in a specialized stem cell transplantation centre. In both samples, personal meaning was concurrently associated with reduced emotional distress, enhanced coping efficacy, and closer intimate relationships, after controlling for social desirability bias and relevant demographic and medical covariates. Associations with lower distress and improved coping efficacy remained significant after additionally controlling for other psychosocial resource variables (i.e. social support, religiousness, emotional control). Personal meaning appears to be independently related to concurrent psychosocial adjustment in a range of medical settings.

Keywords:

• personal meaning
• global meaning
• psychosocial and physical adjustment
• primary care
• stem cell transplantation
• cancer

Acknowledgements

This study is based in part on data presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Behavioural Medicine, Washington, DC, 28 April 2011.

Notes

Note

1. When the regression analyses were repeated with the full set of control variables in each model (as opposed to only significant or marginally significant control variables), findings remained unchanged in both samples, with one exception: the model predicting coping efficacy in the transplant sample changed from significant to marginally significant.