Abstract
This study explored the association between meaning in life and readiness for political participation based on meaning-in-life profiles among Chinese late adolescents. A total of 1030 college students (mean age = 19.69 ± 1.47 years) in Hong Kong participated in this study. First, we used a cluster analysis to investigate meaning-in-life profiles based on two dimensions: “presence of meaning” and “search for meaning”. Furthermore, we investigated the association between meaning profiles and readiness for political participation. Results revealed three distinguishable profiles, which emerged in both male and female adolescents. Students with “high-presence” and “highsearch” attributes and students with “low-presence” and “high-search” characteristics showed greater readiness to engage in normative and non-normative political actions than did those with a “high-presence” and “low-search” profile. Our research fills the research gap on meaning profiles in Asian adolescents and provides the empirical basis for an alternative account of youth political participation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 5765 |
| Journal | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| Early online date | 27 May 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2021 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgments: This paper and the research project are financially supported by the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme from the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Project Number: SR2020.A6.003) and the Wofoo Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Keywords
- Cluster analysis
- Person-oriented approach
- Presence of meaning
- Readiness for political participation
- Search for meaning
