Logotherapy theory of Frankl suggests that the fundamental drive of human existence is to constantly seek the meaning and purpose of life to satisfy psychological needs, and the meaning in life is the basic element for an individual to experience happiness in life. Some scholars have verified that meaning in life has a positive effect on college students’ life satisfaction and well-being. However, there are a lot of studies on college students, while there are few studies on international students. Moreover, compared with local college students, international students need to leave the familiar environment to adapt to different cultures and study with unfamiliar people, so their mental health needs to be paid more attention. Meaning in life among international university student has a significant purpose in life and mental health impact. Chinese students make up the largest group of international students in Malaysia. This study aimed to present an integrative model of factors that contribute to variability in meaning in life among international Chinese university student, including background demographic (gender, education background, religion), and the relationship of purpose in life and meaning in life. Participants responded to a questionnaire online via Google form. There are two instruments used in this study, Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) (Cronbach’s Alpha=0.926) is for investigating the level of meaning in life and the Purpose in Life Test (PLT) (Cronbach’s Alpha=0.933) is for investigating the level of purpose in life among international Chinese students. As for validity analysis, the test results showed that the KMO test values of these two variables in the survey data were 0.847 (MLQ)and 0.822(PLT). In Pearson correlation test, the results showed that MLQ and PLT were significantly correlated with each other, with p-values less than 0.01 and correlation coefficients greater than 0, showing a significant positive relationship. The study highlights the importance of enhancing the meaning of life among international university students.
Frankl,V.E.(1958) .On logotherapy and existential analysis.American Journal of Psychoanalysis,18( 1) ,28?37.
Frankl,V.E.(1985).Man’s search for meaning.New York,NY: Washington Square Press: Simon and Schuster
Hill,C.E.(2018).Meaning in life: A therapist’s guide.Washington,DC,US: American Psychological Association?
Kahneman,D,Diener,E.? Schwarz,N.(1999).Well?being: Foundations of hedonic psychology.?ussell Sage Foundation?
Crumbaugh,JC.&Maholick,L.An experimental study in existentialism: The psychometric approach to
Frankl's concept of noogenic neurosis[J].Journal of Clinical Psychology,1964(20):200-207.
William Damon, Jenni Menon, Kendall Cotton Bronk. The Development of Purpose During Adolescence[J].Applied Developmental Science,2003,7(3).
Battista,J,&Almond,R.The development of meaning in life[J].Psychiatry,1973(36):409-427.
Allen C.Sherman,Stephanie Simonton,Umaira Latif,Lew Bracy. Effects of global meaning and illness-specific meaning on health outcomes among breast cancer patients[J].Journal of Behavioral Medicine,2010,33(5).
Patrick L. Hill,Nicholas A.Turiano.Purpose in Life as a Predictor of Mortality Across Adulthood[J].Psychological science: a journal of the American Psychological Society,2014,25(7):1482-1486.
Zika,S&Chamberlian,K. Relation of hassles and personality to subjective well-being[J].Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.1987,53(1),155-162.
Crumbaugh,J C.Everything to gain:a guide to self-fulfillment through logoan- alysis.Chicago:Nelson-Hall Co.1973.
Frankl,V E.The doctor and the soul: From psychotherapy to logotherapy[M],Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.1986.
Meier. A. & Edwards, H. Purpose in life test:Age and sex differences[J].Joumal of Clinical Psychology.1974(30),384-386.
Steger, M. F. Structural validity of the Life egards Index. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 2007:40, 97–109.
Steger, M. F.& Kashdan, T. B. Stability and specificity of meaning in life and life satisfaction over one year: Implications for outcome assessment. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2007:8,161–179
Steger, M.F. Frazier, P.& Zacchanini, J. L. Terrorism in two cultures: Traumatization and existential protective factors following the September 11th attacks and the Madrid train bombings. Journal of Trauma and Loss, 2008:13, 511–527
Steger, M. F.Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. . The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life.Journal of Counseling Psychology,2006,53:80–93.
Steger, M. F.Kashdan, T. B., Sullivan, B. A., & Lorentz, D. Understanding the search for meaning in life: Personality, cognitive style, and the dynamic between seeking and experiencing meaning.Journal of Personality, 2008,28:199–228.
Steger, M. F Kawabata, Y., Shimai, S., & Otake, K. The meaningful life in Japan and the United States: Levels and correlates of meaning in life.Journal of Research in Personality, 2008,42:660–678.
Steger, M.F. Oishi, S., & Kashdan, T. B. Meaning in life across the life span: Levels and correlates of meaning in life from adolescence to older adulthood.Journal of Positive Psychology,2009,4:43–52.
Wong, P. T. P. Meaning-centered counseling. In P. T. P. Wong & P. S. Fry (Eds.), The huma quest for meaning: A handbook of psychological research and clinical Applicatio Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. ,1998:395–435.
Zika, S., & Chamberlain, K. Relation of hassles and personality to subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1987,53:155–162.
Zika, S., & Chamberlain, K.On the relation between meaning in life and psychological well-being.British Journal of Psychology, 1992,83: 133–145.
Clara E. Hill, Kathryn Kline, Viviana Bauman, Torrian Brent, Catherine Breslin, Marilyn Calderon, Cecilia Campos, Stephanie Goncalves, Danielle Goss, Toby Hamovitz, Patty Kuo, Noah Robinson, Sarah Knox. What’s it all about? A qualitative study of meaning in life for counseling psychology doctoral students. Counselling Psychology Quarterly.2015,28(1).
Crumbaugh, J.C.Everything to gain: a guide to self-fulfillment through Logoanalysis. Chicago: Nelson-hall Company. 1973
Crumbaugh,J.C.& Maholick, L.An experimental study in existentialism: The psychometric approach to Frankl’s concept of noogenic neurosis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1964,20:200–207.
Das, A.K. Frankl and the realm of meaning. Journal of Humanistic Education & Development, 1998(36):199–211 .
Fleer, J., Hoekstra, H. J., Sleijer, D. T., Tuinman, M. A., & Hoekstra-Weebers, J. E. H. M. he role of meaning in the prediction of psychological well-being of esticular cancer survivor.Quality of Life Research, 2006,15:705–717.
King, L. A., Hicks, J. A., Krull, J. L., & Del Gaiso, A. K. Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2006: 90, 179–196.
Lent, R. W. Toward a unifying theoretical and practical perspective on well-being and psychosocial adjustment. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2004,51:, 482–509.
Maton K. The stress moderating role of spiritual support: Cross sec-tional and prospective investigations.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,1989,28(3): 310-323
Pan, J.Y., Wong, D.F. K, Chan, C. L. W, & Joubert, L. meaning in life as a protective factor of positive affect in acculturation: A resilience framework and a cross-cultural comparison. International Journal of Intercultural Relations.2008,32:505–514.
Reker, G. T. Prospective predictors of successful aging in community-residing and institutionalized Canadian elderly. Ageing International, 2002:27, 42–64.
Reker, G. T.. Theoretical perspective, dimensions, and measurement of existential meaning. In G. T. Reker & K. Chamberlain (Eds.), Exploring existential meaning: Optimizing human development across the life spanThousand Oak, CA: Sage Publications,2000:39-58
Steger, M. F. Meaning in life.In S. J. Lopez, (Ed.), Encyclopedia of positive psychology, Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing,2009:605–610.
Batson,C.D.,Shaw,L.L.Evidence for altruism:Towarda pluralism of prosocial motives.Psychological Inquiry,1999 ,2:107?122.
Battista,J.,Almond,R..The development of meaning in life?Psychiatry,1973,36:409–427. 36?Baumeister,R. F.Meanings of life.New York: Guilford.1991.
Baumeister,R.F.,Vohs,K.D.The pursuit of meaningfulness in life. In C.R.Snyder & S.J.Lopez (Eds.).2002: 608–618.
Mushtagh, S., & Akhouri, D. (2016). Self esteem, anxiety, depression and stress among physically disabled people. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 3(4), 125- 132.
Navab, Z. S., Kalantary, M., & Javadzadeh, A. (2014). Investigating the effectiveness of group logotherapy with an Islamic approach on the psychological well- being of women referring to counseling centers in Isfahan in 2013. Islamic Research Journal of Women and Family, 2(3), 43-55.
