The Mediating Role of Meaning in the Association between Stress and Health
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BRIEF REPORT
The Mediating Role of Meaning in the Association between Stress and Health Daryl R. Van Tongeren, PhD 1 & Peter C. Hill, PhD 2 & Neal Krause, PhD 3 & Gail H. Ironson, PhD 4 & Kenneth I. Pargament, PhD 5
# The Society of Behavioral Medicine 2017
Abstract Background Stress is a common feature of life and has routinely been linked with negative health outcomes. However, meaning has been identified as a possible buffer against stress. Purpose The purpose of the current study was to examine whether the relationship between stress and health was mediated by meaning in life. Methods Drawing from Wave 1 of the Landmark Spirituality and Health Study, a nationally representative sample of adults, participants (N = 1871) reported their level of stress in the past 12 months, current meaning in life, health (measured as minor symptoms, major conditions, and overall health), and provided a blood sample for biomarker of immune system functioning (i.e., presence of Epstein–Barr virus antibodies). Results Results revealed an indirect effects model in which stress was inversely associated with meaning. Higher meaning was related to better self-reported health (across minor, major, and overall health measures), which, in turn, was associated with better immune system functioning. Conclusions These findings suggest that part of the negative effect of stress on health is accounted for by reduced meaning. Keywords Meaning in life . Stress . Health . Immune functioning * Daryl R. Van Tongeren [email protected]
1
Department of Psychology, Hope College, Science Center, 35 E. 12th Street, Holland, MI 49422-9000, USA
2
Biola University, La Mirada, CA, USA
3
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
4
University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
5
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA
Stress is a common feature of life that has negative health implications [1]. For example, previous research has revealed that stress can reactivate latent Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), which is a measure of one’s immune system health [2]. Such research highlights how stress has negative health effects by suppressing immune system functioning [3]. The link between stress and poor health outcomes has been well documented [4], and research has sought to identify potential mechanisms that could account for (and hopefully ameliorate) the deleterious effects of stress on health. Stress is a response to a negative, threatening, and damaging event [5]. Given that meaning in life and purpose are associated with better overall health [6] and that stress can erode meaning and purpose [7], it stands to reason that the negative effect of stressors on health may be mediated by meaning. That is, the degree that one has a sense of meaning and purpose following an adverse or stressful situation might have important downstream effects on the negative health implications of that stress. Meaning has been defined in various ways, but most researchers agree that it is multidimensional in nature. For example, meaning consists of coherence, purpose,
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