A three-level meta-analysis of the relationship between meaning in life and depression.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Meta-analysis of observational/correlational studies (by design analogy, not randomized trials).
PubMed 41453663 · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2025.121045
What was done
A three-level meta-analysis was conducted across 278 studies comprising 312 independent samples, 552 effect values, and 252,254 participants to examine the association between meaning in life and depression. The authors evaluated potential moderators including meaning components, depression measurement tools, health status, language, demographics (gender, age), individualism index, publication time, publication status, and research design.
What was found
Meaning in life had a moderate negative correlation with depression (r = -0.332, p < 0.001). The relationship was significantly moderated by components of meaning in life, depression measurement tools, health status, and language, but not by gender, age, individualism index, publication time, publication status, or research design. Component-specific moderator analysis showed: age moderated the relationship between presence of meaning and depression; individualism index, individualism-collectivism, and language moderated the relationship between search for meaning and depression; and health status and language moderated the relationship between purpose in life and depression.
Why it matters
This large-scale synthesis confirms a robust negative relationship between meaning in life and depression across a quarter-million participants. It clarifies which dimensions of meaning and contextual variables influence this association, helping inform targeted meaning-based psychological interventions.
Limits
The included studies are correlational, preventing causal inference regarding whether meaning in life reduces depression or depression lowers perceived meaning. Specific subgroup effect sizes, confidence intervals, and heterogeneity metrics are not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- partial The number one predictor of clinical depression and generalized anxiety today is saying that one's life feels meaningless.