Psychometric properties of the life meaning subscale from the brief stress and coping inventory (BSCI-LM)

Abstract

The present study investigated the reliability and validity of the six-, seven- and eight-item Hungarian versions of the Brief Stress and Coping Inventory's Life Meaning Subscale (BSCI-LM). The analyses were conducted on a national representative sample of 4,524 persons and on a smaller convenient sample of 91 young adults. In order to test the convergent and divergent validity of the BSCI-LM, the shortened Beck Depression Inventory, the WHO Well-Being Index, the shortened version of the Aspiration Index, the Anomie Scale, the Purpose in Life Test, the shortened version of the Existence Scale and the revised version of the Logo-Test were used. According to the analyses conducted on the national representative sample, all three versions of the BSCI-LM proved to have adequate internal consistency (alphas of 0.73 to 0.75) and the shortened versions can be considered as appropriate alternatives to the original 8-item subscale (r6-8=0.94; r7.8=0.98). A moderate positive relationship was found between scores on the BSCI-LM and general well-being and importance of intrinsic life goals. Further, a modest negative relationship was observed bet ween depressive symptomatology and meaning in life measured by the BSCI-LM. A weak positive association was found between scores on the BSCI-LM, anomie and the Aspiration Index. Hungarian standards of the BSCI-LM according to gender, three age groups, educational level and marital status were also established. With regard to the second sample, a moderate positive relationship was found between all three versions of the BSCI-LM and scores on the Purpose in Life Test, the shortened version of the Existence Scale and the revised version of the Logo-Test. We can conclude that the BSCI-LM can be used with confidence to assess meaning in life. © 2008 Akadémiai Kiadó.