Extending research linking purpose in life to health: The challenges of inequality, the potential of the arts, and the imperative of virtue

Abstract

Empirical studies of purpose in life are flourishing. However, in light of a rapidly changing social milieu, there are pressing but understudied issues to address if purpose research is to realize its potential in impacting people's lives. We first distill what has been learned from prior research on age variation in purpose in life and briefly review accumulating evidence linking higher levels of purpose to better physical health. Possible biobehavioral mechanisms underlying the purpose-health connection are noted. We then build upon this evidence to examine an array of factors that might undermine or nurture purposeful life engagement. Growing societal inequality may be critical in limiting people's capacities to pursue meaningful lives, but more research is needed. Alternatively, growing research now links the arts and humanities to health. We focus on possible influences these realms might have in cultivating purpose. The role of education in nurturing exposure to the arts is examined, along with problems of elitism in higher education (thereby re-invoking themes of inequality). Our final section calls for research that more explicitly links purpose in life to human virtues and values. Theoretical approaches and tractable empirical topics are delineated. Our overall objective is to offer innovative future paths to deepen understanding of how health and well-being at individual and societal levels are tied to purpose in life.