"I Had to Rediscover a Sense of Meaning in Life"
University Students' Experiences of Meaning in Life during a Collective Crisis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62442/ta.144608Abstract
Adolescence and young adulthood are particularly central life stages; A person searches for and strengthens her/his experience of meaning. The focus of this article is the question of how college students aged 18–25 have maintained and strengthened their experience of the meaning of life during the COVID-19 crisis. We focus not only on the concept of experiencing meaning, but also on novel empirical research findings on the connections between meaning and well-being. As a frame, we use a three-part model of sense of meaning: coherence, purpose and significance. Our data consists of written semi-structured interviews with 40 students. The results show that despite the time of crisis – and partly because of it – the respondents had experienced numerous factors that maintain and strengthen meaning. Social belonging and a sense of coherence stemming from routines emerged as the most important ones. Studying both fostered and challenged students´ sense of meaning. Spirituality also strengthened meaningfulness, especially as a source of hope in times of crisis.
