Daily Spiritual Experiences and Purpose in Life: The Mediating Role of Loneliness and Moderating Role of Satisfaction With Social and Intimate Relationships

Abstract

The present study examines social, family, and romantic loneliness as mediators and satisfaction with social and intimate relationships as moderators in the link between daily spiritual experiences and purpose in life. This cross-sectional and longitudinal investigation involved 700 Polish adults at T1 (M= 39.83, SD = 9.24) and 236 at T2. Our cross-sectional analyses revealed that lower satisfaction with social relationships and higher daily spiritual experiences are related to lower family and social loneliness, whereas lower intimate relationship satisfaction and higher daily spiritual experiences are related to decreased social and romantic loneliness, which contribute to a greater purpose in life. The longitudinal data analyses did not support the concurrent moderated mediation model. The enhancing function of daily spiritual experiences for purpose in life concerns domain-specific loneliness and manifests amid decreased levels of satisfaction with social and intimate relationships.