Rachel Sumner

Identity and Purpose as Predictors of Subjective Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood

Identity and purpose in life can serve as internal assets during the transition to adulthood. Although these two facets of the self are closely linked, they are usually studied separately. The rare research that has considered identity and purpose together has focused exclusively on commitment in these domains, neglecting the process of exploration that often precedes commitment. The current study built on existing work by investigating identity and purpose as simultaneous predictors of subjective well-being in a sample of emerging adults (N = 850, M age = 19.96) and examining both commitment and exploration processes. In a structural equation model, purpose commitment emerged as the strongest predictor of well-being, significantly predicting greater life satisfaction and positive affect and lower negative affect. Findings are discussed with respect to strategies for promoting identity and purpose development during the transition to adulthood.

Understanding the pathways to purpose: Examining personality and well-being correlates across adulthood

Although finding a purpose is almost universally accepted as a developmental achievement, relatively little research has sought to understand the potential means by which individuals do so. Using a newly developed measure, the current studies examined the personality and well-being profiles of individuals who reported following any of three different pathways to purpose: (1) proactive engagement, (2) reaction to significant life events, or (3) social learning. Across both emerging adult (n = 179) and adult (n = 307) samples, we demonstrated that individuals along these three pathways differ in theoretically meaningful ways. For instance, proactively engaged individuals report greater agency and openness to experience, while individuals who found a purpose primarily through reactive means are less likely to be exploring their life aims. Engagement with any pathway though coincided with greater well-being, due to the fact that following these paths may lead to a sense of purpose in life.

Purpose in Life as a Resource for Increasing Comfort With Ethnic Diversity

Emerging demographic trends signal that White Americans will soon relinquish their majority status. As Whites’ acclimation to an increasingly diverse society is poised to figure prominently in their adjustment, identifying sources of greater comfort with diversity is important. Three studies (N = 519) revealed evidence that purpose in life bolsters comfort with ethnic diversity among White adults. Specifically, dispositional purpose was positively related to diversity attitudes and attenuated feelings of threat resulting from viewing demographic projections of greater diversity. In addition, when primed experimentally, purpose attenuated participants’ preferences for living in an ethnically homogeneous-White city, relative to a more diverse city when shown maps displaying ethno-demographic information. These effects persisted after controlling for positive affect and perceived connections to ethnic out-groups, suggesting the robust influence of purpose. Potential benefits of situating purpose as a unique resource for navigating an increasingly diverse society are discussed.

Leveling Mountains Purpose Attenuates Links Between Perceptions of Effort and Steepness

People tend to overestimate the steepness of slopes, especially when they appraise the effort necessary to ascend them as greater. Recent studies, however, suggest the way individuals perceive visual stimuli may rely heavily on their personal motivations. In four studies (N = 517), purpose in life was tested as a motivational framework influencing how appraised effort relates to slope perception. Studies 1 and 2 found the amount of effort participants appraised necessary to ascend several virtual slopes was related to greater overestimation of their steepness. Yet, this relationship was attenuated by purpose assessed both as a disposition and experimental manipulation. Studies 3 and 4 replicated these findings using actual hills, again showing links between the amount of effort thought required to ascend them and their perceived angle were diminished by greater purpose. The discussion addresses implications of purpose as a broad motivational framework that shapes how individuals see their environment.

Sense of Purpose and Parent–Child Relationships in Emerging Adulthood

Individuals can find a purpose or direction for life prior to reaching adulthood, with parental figures often functioning as scaffolds. However, research is lacking with respect to understanding whether purposeful emerging adults have more positive relationships with their parents. The current studies provide initial insights into this possibility using two university samples (N = 553). Study 1 demonstrated that emerging adults who report a higher sense of purpose tend to have more positive attachments to parental figures. Study 2 found that emerging adults with a higher sense of purpose also reported fewer difficulties with the separation–individuation process, which in turn partially explained why purposeful emerging adults report a greater sense of personal mastery. Results are discussed with respect to setting a foundation for future research.

The development of purpose in life among adolescents who experience marginalization: Potential opportunities and obstacles.

In recent decades there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of research focused on purpose in life, demonstrating a host of benefits that emerge for individuals committed to a purpose. As with other constructs in the positive youth development framework, there is a paucity of work investigating how experiences of marginalization impact the development of this psychological asset among adolescents. To catalyze research on this front, we draw attention to potential opportunities and obstacles associated with experiences of marginalization and how they might affect an adolescent developing a purpose in life. Like García Coll and colleagues’ (1996) integrative model, our perspective includes sociocultural factors (e.g., social position, adaptive culture), an emphasis on intragroup variability, and discussion of potentially promoting and inhibiting aspects of marginalization. Following a description of existing research on purpose development during adolescence, we discuss how experiences of marginalization could contour the development of self-integrative, strong, and articulated purpose among adolescents. To conclude, specific considerations for future research are outlined, including how existing definitions of and tools for measuring purpose can be adapted to produce a scientific literature that values and includes the normative purpose development of adolescents who experience marginalization.

Room for debate (and derogation): Negativity of readers’ comments on Black authors’ online content.

When most people think of anonymous comments written on online content, they think of messages that are overtly negative and offensive. Previous research suggests that readers of online content about race may react more negatively to authors who are members of stigmatized racial groups. In 2 studies, we tested this possibility with respect to online content written by Black and White authors. In Study 1, we analyzed readers’ comments on actual race-related opinion-editorial (op-ed) essays published on The New York Times’ Room for Debate blog over a 1-year period. As predicted, readers wrote more (and more negative) comments on Black authors’ op-eds compared to comments written on White authors’ op-eds. Study 2, which included information about the readers, revealed that people who rate themselves as likely to comment online are also more likely to have negative reactions to Black authors’ content. Implications for race-related online content and directions for future research are discussed.

A Better Tomorrow: Toward a Stronger Science of Youth Purpose

Having a sense of purpose in life has been discussed as a psychological asset for promoting positive youth development. Yet confidence in the benefits of purpose has accumulated faster than rigorous confirmation of their existence among youth, using instruments and methods calibrated to the developmental stage of those under study. Here, the authors illuminate four problems this asymmetry creates for drawing inferences from extant research on youth purpose, namely its reliance on (1) unclear scientific criteria for distinguishing “youth” and measures that include developmentally presumptuous items, (2) single-informant and self-report methods, (3) misapplication of cross-sectional designs to test prospective or causal theories, and (4) analytic techniques insensitive to purpose content. In delineating these problems, the authors consider the extent to which the three empirical contributions included in this issue are responsive to each and may provide templates to guide future studies of youth purpose.