Relationship Between Search for and Presence of Meaning in Life in High School Students

Objective: To explore the relationship between search for and presence of meaning in life in Chinese high school students.Methods: The Meaning in Life Questionnaire was used in the cross-sectional study(N=1659) and the longitudinal study(N=84,three measurements).Results: There was positive relation between search for and presence of meaning in life only when the two dimensions were measured simultaneously.However,after controlling interference variables,the post-test presence of meaning was predicted only by the pre-test presence,but not significantly related to pre-test search.The post-test search for meaning was predicted only by the pre-test search,but not significantly related to pre-test presence.Conclusion: Search for meaning and presence of meaning are fairly stable over long periods of time.These two variables only affect their own development.Their change is independent of each other over time.