Abstract

Identifying antecedents to meaning in life has been a long-standing interest among researchers. Based on the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examined the independent and additive functions of two individual characteristics (perfectionism, self-compassion) in predicting meaning in life. With 245 diverse community adults, we first tested whether perfectionism dimensions and self-compassion independently predicted meaning in life. Then, the moderating effect of self-compassion in the association between perfectionism and meaning in life was tested. Results found that two dimensions of perfectionism predicted meaning in life, with perfectionistic strivings positively predicting meaning in life whereas perfectionistic concerns negatively predicting meaning in life. Self-compassion also facilitated experiences of meaning in life, indicating that having a healthy attitude toward oneself promotes meaning in life. However, there was no evidence of self-compassion moderating the association between perfectionism and meaning in life. Findings suggest that perfectionistic strivings is adaptive and perfectionistic concerns is maladaptive in experiencing meaning in life, consistent with the literature on perfectionism’s relation to well-being. Self-compassion facilitated meaning in life but infusing self-compassion into interventions to further promote meaning in life among perfectionists may not prove fruitful. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

摘要

识别生命意义的前因一直是研究人员长期以来的兴趣所在。基于自我决定理论（SDT），本研究检验了两个个体特征（完美主义、自我同情）在预测生活意义方面的独立和相加功能。我们首先测试了 245 名不同社区的成年人，完美主义维度和自我同情是否独立预测了生活的意义。然后，测试了自我同情在完美主义与生活意义之间的关联中的调节作用。结果发现，完美主义的两个维度预测了生活的意义，完美主义的努力积极地预测了生活的意义，而完美主义的关注消极地预测了生活的意义。自我同情也促进了生命意义的体验，表明对自己有健康的态度可以促进生活的意义。然而，没有证据表明自我同情会调节完美主义与生活意义之间的关联。研究结果表明，完美主义的追求是适应性的，而完美主义的关注在体验生命意义方面是不适应的，这与完美主义与幸福关系的文献一致。自我同情促进了生活的意义，但将自我同情注入干预措施以进一步促进完美主义者的生活意义可能不会取得成果。讨论了限制和未来的方向。研究结果表明，完美主义的追求是适应性的，而完美主义的关注在体验生命意义方面是不适应的，这与完美主义与幸福关系的文献一致。自我同情促进了生活的意义，但将自我同情注入干预措施以进一步促进完美主义者的生活意义可能不会取得成果。讨论了限制和未来的方向。研究结果表明，完美主义的追求是适应性的，而完美主义的关注在体验生命意义方面是不适应的，这与完美主义与幸福关系的文献一致。自我同情促进了生活的意义，但将自我同情注入干预措施以进一步促进完美主义者的生活意义可能不会取得成果。讨论了限制和未来的方向。