Although psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety, have long been studied as factors that contribute to poorer health (broadly defined) over time, it is only in the last few years that psychological strengths have emerged as having possible protective influences on health. One such strength is purpose in life, which was first formulated from the life experiences of Victor Frankl, who spent 3 years in a Nazi concentration camp.¹ He saw purpose in life as having life-saving features and went on to develop a form of psychotherapy based on it. What does purpose in life mean? It is about reflective activities in which individuals perceive their existence to be meaningful and to include goals for which they live. Sometimes, this takes proactive efforts. In 1989, I developed a structured, self-report scale to measure purpose in life,² along with 5 other dimensions of psychological well-being. Since then, more than 500 publications have grown up around this model of well-being. Components of it have been linked to a host of other domains (aging, work and family life, personality, health, and interventions).³ However, without question, the greatest amount of new science that has taken well-being in the direction of health has involved purpose in life. Frankl, a psychiatrist by training, saw it was essential for sustaining life, particularly under conditions of adversity. A growing body of evidence suggests he was probably right.

尽管长期以来一直在研究心理障碍（例如抑郁和焦虑）作为导致健康状况较差（广泛定义）的因素，但直到最近几年，心理强度才开始显现出来，可能对健康产生保护作用。人生目标就是这样一种力量，它是根据维克多·弗兰克尔（Victor Frankl）在纳粹集中营度过3年的生活经历而首先提出的。^1个他将人生目标视为具有拯救生命的特征，并以此为基础发展了一种心理疗法。人生目标是什么意思？这是关于反思性活动，在这种活动中，个人认为自己的存在是有意义的，并包括他们所追求的目标。有时，这需要积极的努力。1989年，我开发了一种结构化的自我报告量表，用于衡量生活目标，^2个指标以及其他5个心理健康指标。自那时以来，围绕这种幸福感模式发展了500多种出版物。它的组成部分已与许多其他领域（年龄，工作和家庭生活，个性，健康和干预措施）相关联。³但是，毫无疑问，在健康方面朝着幸福方向发展的最大数量的新科学已涉及生活目标。经过培训的精神病医生弗兰克（Frankl）认为，维持生命至关重要，尤其是在逆境中。越来越多的证据表明他可能是正确的。