Aspects of meaning of life in different subcultures in Peru

Abstract

The categorization system for perceptions of meaning of life developed by Ebersole, et al. was applied in four different Peruvian subsamples (middle/ upper-class university students, lower-class night students, slum dwellers who had emigrated from the South Andes and settled in the capital, and Highland Indians), totaling 168 participants. Analysis showed most answers could be satisfactorily fitted into the eight categories, although slight modifications had to be made and two more categories had to be created. For middle/upper-class students, lower-class night students, and slum dwellers, Growth was the most important category followed by Relationships. In contrast, the major topic within the Indian sample of the South Andes was Relationships, whereas Growth turned out to be irrelevant. More educated subjects described meaning of life in a more abstract way than less educated subjects. The discrepancies between the subsamples suggest that individual concepts of meaning of life contain culture-specific as well as universal elements.