Predictors and outcomes of a sense of purpose in life : a longitudinal study in Hong Kong and Indonesia

Abstract

Although having a purpose in life has essentially positive outcomes among emerging adults, only some adults find their purpose. Moreover, individuals scoring high in purpose have generally been found to live in less affluent, but more religious countries. Few longitudinal studies have investigated the predictors and outcomes of purpose in life, especially in non-Western cultures. The current study examines the presence of and search for purpose in life among emerging adults in Hong Kong and Indonesia, with career calling and Christian calling as predictors, and meaningfulness and life satisfaction as outcomes. Since current conceptualizations and scales focus on career calling, Study 1 aimed to identify important themes in Christian calling through interviews. Based on these themes, an item pool was created to develop a new scale – Calling Scale for Christians (CSC) – in Indonesian and Chinese versions. In Study 2, factor analyses showed the Indonesian and Chinese versions of CSC had two factors – devotion to God’s calling, and confusion of God’s calling. Study 3 found the Indonesian and Chinese purpose scales had good psychometric properties. Using a cross-sectional dataset in Study 4, career calling and Christian calling were positively linked to presence of purpose, which in turn predicted well-being. Study 5, using autoregressive cross-lagged analyses, revealed presence of purpose predicted life satisfaction in the Hong Kong sample, but career calling in the Indonesian sample. The different purpose in life outcomes between Hong Kong and Indonesian emerging adults showed purpose could serve as an antecedent of both personal agency in career and religious domains, and of well-being. Among Christian Indonesians, presence of purpose and meaningfulness were prospectively linked to devotion to Christian calling, which could imply a mutual link between religion and purpose.