Longitudinal associations of experiential and reflective dimensions of meaning in life with psychopathological symptoms

Background: Rather than being rooted in deliberate reflection, the experience of meaning has been shown to evolve from intuitive processes (Heintzelman & King, 2013b, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6527-6_7). Accordingly, experiential and reflective dimensions of meaning in life can be distinguished (Hill et al., 2019, https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2018.1434483). In this preregistered study, we explored how these dimensions are longitudinally associated with psychopathological symptoms. We expected that experiencing more meaning would predict fewer depressive symptoms and fewer personality functioning impairments six months later, whereas reflecting about meaning would predict more psychopathological symptoms. Method: A German-speaking sample of N = 388 completed self-report measures assessing meaning in life, depression, and personality functioning at baseline and six months later. Results: Controlling for depression at baseline, elevated levels of experiencing meaning in life predicted a decrease in depressive symptoms. Experiencing meaning did not predict personality functioning impairments six months later. However, exploratory analyses with a larger sample tentatively showed that experiencing meaning in life predicted less impairments in personality functioning. Evidence supporting the hypothesized association between reflection and future depression as well as future personality functioning impairments was discerned through exploratory analyses. Generalizability of results to clinical care settings is limited due to the studied non-clinical sample. No causal conclusions can be drawn from the data because the study employed an observational design with two assessment points. Conclusion: Experiencing meaning in life emerged as a potential protective factor against future psychopathological symptoms, whereas exploratory analyses pointed to an opposite relationship for reflection about meaning in life. Results are discussed with regard to clinical implications and directions for future research.