Construction and Validation of a Meaning in Life Scale in the Taiwanese Cultural Context

Abstract

The objective was to construct and validate a Chinese-language Meaning in Life Scale (MiLS) and to assess its psychometric properties. The three most popular scales have some weaknesses and are grounded in a Western cultural context. Consequently, a comprehensive and psychometrically adequate meaning in life scale is needed for use in Asian samples. 500 randomly selected participants from the Taiwanese public provided 476 valid responses to a written questionnaire. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 63 years ( M age = 42.3 yr.; 181 men, 295 women). Exploratory factor analysis reduced the initial 41 items to 33 items, based on a 5-point rating scale. Five factors were extracted: Contented with life (10 items; 33.20% of total variance), Goals in life (5 items; 6.95%), Enthusiasm and commitment (7 items; 6.28%), Understanding (6 items; 5.41%), and Sense or meaning to human existence (5 items; 4.57%). The MiLS showed satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity. Therefore, the MiLS was found to be a valid and reliable instrument to measure the subjective sense of a meaning in life in the Taiwanese cultural context.