Durivou, Floris (2026) Meaning in Life: More Than Just a Philosophical Concept — The Protective Role of Resilience in Depression. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Meaning in life has consistently been associated with greater subjective well-being and lower levels of psychopathology, including depression. However, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Given the increasing prevalence of depressive symptoms, identifying factors that may protect against depression is of substantial importance. Resilience, conceptualized as the capacity to adaptively recover from stress and adversity, may represent one mechanism linking meaning in life to depression. The present study therefore examined resilience as a mediator of the relationship between meaning in life and depressive symptoms. Data were drawn from an available dataset consisting of a sample of 674 multinational participants who completed self-report measures of meaning in life (Meaning in Life Questionnaire), resilience (Brief Resilience Scale), and depression (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale). Mediation analyses using bootstrapping procedures indicated that resilience partially mediated the relationship between meaning in life and depressive symptoms. Approximately 21% of the total effect of meaning in life on depressive symptoms was accounted for by the indirect pathway through resilience. Specifically, greater meaning in life was associated with higher resilience, which in turn was associated with lower levels of depression. These findings suggest that resilience may represent an important mechanism through which meaning in life may exert its protective effect against depressive symptoms. The results highlight the potential value of meaning-centered interventions aimed at strengthening resilience to reduce vulnerability to depression.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Jong, P.J. de |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Clinical Psychology (CP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Mar 2026 10:53 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Mar 2026 10:53 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/6314 |
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