Psychologists find a link between having a purpose in life and levels of depression

Australian psychologists from the University of New England found a correlation between having a purpose in life and lower levels of depression and anxiety. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Journal of Clinical Psychology (JCP).

Depression and anxiety remain among the most common mental disorders worldwide and affect the lives of millions of people. Given their prevalence and impact, finding ways to effectively prevent and treat these conditions is a high priority for public health and psychology.

Scientists analyzed 89 previous studies involving more than 66 thousand people in total. They found that a higher sense of purpose in life was strongly associated with lower levels of depression. The effect size of this relationship, measured as the correlation coefficient ®, was -0.49. This shows that as a person’s sense of purpose in life increases, symptoms of depression decrease significantly.

The relationship between goal orientation and anxiety, although still negative, was moderate compared to depression. The effect size here was -0.36, suggesting that a greater sense of purpose is also associated with reduced anxiety, but this association is not as strong as in depression.

For anxiety, the negative correlation with purpose in life was more pronounced in those who had already been diagnosed with physical or mental health problems. This suggests that for people experiencing health problems, having a sense of purpose may play a more important role in managing anxiety.

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