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Texas A & M University

The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: A Random Effects Reliability Generalization

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) is a 10-item self-report measure that assesses perceived meaning in life and search for meaning in life (Steger, Frazier, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006). A reliability generalization was conducted on the Presence and Search subscales of the MLQ to estimate the average reliability, examine the variability among the reliability estimates, and search for moderators. Articles that meet selection criteria were obtained from PsycINFO. Mixed effects analysis was conducted on 152 reliability estimates for the Presence subscale, and 89 reliability estimates for the Search subscale. Both Presence and Search subscales showed high mean reliability estimates (above .85) and significant heterogeneity in estimates across studies. Language in which scale was administered explained a significant proportion of the variation in the Presence and Search subscales. Region was a significant moderator of reliability of the Search subscale only; regions outside of North America and Europe reported significantly lower reliability. Results indicate that even though the MLQ is highly reliable across samples, reliability varies significantly as a function of language and region. The results have implications of the conceptualization of meaning in life across diverse cultures.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
Masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Educational Psychology
Grantor
Texas A & M University
Year dc:date.issued
2017

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Semma, Brandie
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Luo, Wen
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Kwok, Oi-Man
  • Chen, Lei-Shih

Subjects

dc:subject × 6

Rights

Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/165700

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Texas A&M University
Base URL
oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-08-21
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Semma, Brandie. The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: A Random Effects Reliability Generalization. Masters thesis, Texas A & M University, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/165700