Reliability Generalization of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire Subscales Academic Article

abstract

• Meaning in life is a psychological construct linked to several subjective well-being indicators. One commonly used meaning in life measure is the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), a 10-item self-report measure that assesses perceived presence of and search for meaning in life. Despite its extensive use, the variability of the questionnaires reliability across samples has not been examined. This study synthesized reliability evidence for the Meaning in Life Questionnaire from 232 articles. Average reliabilities for both subscales were greater than .85. Results indicated that, though, overall, the MLQ is highly reliable across samples, the questionnaires reliability varies as a function of several sample characteristics. Furthermore, we found some evidence of reporting bias. Implications for the conceptualization of meaning in life across diverse samples and potential underreporting of low reliability estimates are discussed.

authors

• Thompson, Christopher

published proceedings

• JOURNAL OF PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT

author list (cited authors)

• Semma, B., Henri, M., Luo, W., & Thompson, C. G.

citation count

• 4

complete list of authors

• Semma, Brandie||Henri, Maria||Luo, Wen||Thompson, Christopher G

publication date

• October 2019

publisher

• SAGE Publications  Publisher

published in

• Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment  Journal

keywords

• Cronbach's Alpha
• Meaning In Life Questionnaire
• Meta-analysis
• Reliability
• Reliability Generalization

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1177/0734282918800739

start page

• 837

end page

• 851

volume

• 37

issue

• 7

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0734282918800739

user-defined tag

• 3 Good Health and Well-Being