Does a lack of life meaning cause boredom? Results from psychometric, longitudinal, and experimental analyses.

Existential theory and previous qualitative research have suggested that a lack of life meaning and purpose causes boredom, as well as other types of negative affect such as depression or anxiety. Although these variables have been shown to be correlated at one point in time, the relationships among these constructs have not been investigated using a controlled, quantitative research design. In Study 1a (N = 131), boredom was shown to be related to, yet psychometrically distinct from, life meaning, depression, and anxiety. In Study 1b (N = 88), life meaning significantly predicted changes in boredom across time while depression and anxiety did not. In addition, boredom was a significant predictor of changes in life meaning across time, while depression and anxiety were not. Finally, in Study 2 (N = 102), manipulating perceptions of life meaning significantly changed boredom, while a manipulation of mood did not. The nature of the relationship between life meaning and boredom, as well as some clinical impl...

[1]  O. Fenichel.  On the psychology of boredom. , 1951 .

[2]  Mansur Zaskar: a man almost bored to death. , 2000, Suicide & life-threatening behavior.

[3]  R. Miltenberger,et al.  Evaluating direct and indirect measures for the functional assessment of binge eating. , 1999, The International journal of eating disorders.

[4]  B. Dritschel,et al.  Emotional Disturbance and the Specificity of Autobiographical Memory , 1988 .

[5]  P. Bentler,et al.  Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis : Conventional criteria versus new alternatives , 1999 .

[6]  A. Antonovsky.  The structure and properties of the sense of coherence scale. , 1993, Social science & medicine.

[7]  M. Rosenberg.  Society and the adolescent self-image , 1966 .

[8]  H. Bernard,et al.  The Bored Patient , 1988 .

[9]  Marcia K. Johnson.  Reality monitoring: An experimental phenomenological approach. , 1988 .

[10]  L. Radloff.  The CES-D Scale , 1977 .

[11]  R. G. Moore,et al.  The specificity of personal memories in depression. , 1988, The British journal of clinical psychology.

[12]  J. R. Royce,et al.  The search for meaning. , 1959 .

[13]  S. Passik,et al.  An open label pilot study of citalopram for depression and boredom in ambulatory cancer patients , 2003, Palliative and Supportive Care.

[14]  J. Eastwood,et al.  A desire for desires: Boredom and its relation to alexithymia , 2007 .

[15]  S. Passik,et al.  Initial validation of a scale to measure purposelessness, understimulation, and boredom in cancer patients: Toward a redefinition of depression in advanced disease , 2003, Palliative and Supportive Care.

[16]  Adele Diamond,et al.  Attention-deficit disorder (attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder without hyperactivity): A neurobiologically and behaviorally distinct disorder from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (with hyperactivity) , 2005, Development and Psychopathology.

[17]  V. Gecas,et al.  The Self-Concept , 1982 .

[18]  Richard J. Haier,et al.  Intrinsic Enjoyment and Boredom Coping scales: Validation with personality, evoked potential and attention measures. , 1984 .

[19]  J. Crumbaugh.  Cross-validation of Purpose-in-Life test based on Frankl's concepts. , 1968, Journal of individual psychology.

[20]  C. Baudelaire.  The Flowers of Evil , 1982 .

[21]  D. Debats,et al.  On the psychometric properties of the life regard index (LRI): A measure of meaningful life: An evaluation in three independent samples based on the Dutch version , 1993 .

[22]  S. M. Ahmed,et al.  Psychometric Properties of the Boredom Proneness Scale , 1990 .

[23]  S. Magura,et al.  Perceived reasons for substance misuse among persons with a psychiatric disorder. , 2004, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.

[24]  Richard W. Bargdill.  THE STUDY OF LIFE BOREDOM , 2000 .

[25]  S. Iso-Ahola,et al.  Adolescent substance abuse and leisure boredom. , 1991 .

[26]  R. Coombs,et al.  School Performance, Academic Aspirations, and Drug Use among Children and Adolescents , 1990, Journal of drug education.

[27]  L. Kanevsky,et al.  To produce or not to produce? Understanding boredom and the honor in underachievement , 2003 .

[28]  M. Harris,et al.  Correlates and Characteristics of Boredom Proneness and Boredom1 , 2000 .

[29]  R P Smith,et al.  Cisplatin and its analogues in the treatment of advanced breast cancer: a review. , 1992, British Journal of Cancer.

[30]  A. Antonovsky.  Unraveling the mystery of health: how people manage stress and stay well , 1987 .

[31]  J. Crumbaugh,et al.  AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY IN EXISTENTIALISM: THE PSYCHOMETRIC APPROACH TO FRANKL'S CONCEPT OF NOOGENIC NEUROSIS. , 1964, Journal of clinical psychology.

[32]  J. Kemp,et al.  The World As Will And Idea , 1975 .

[33]  H. P. Edwards,et al.  Purpose-in-Life Test: Age and Sex Differences. , 1974 .

[34]  Jonathan S. A. Carriere,et al.  Absent-mindedness: Lapses of conscious awareness and everyday cognitive failures , 2006, Consciousness and Cognition.

[35]  D. Debats.  The Life Regard Index: Reliability and Validity , 1990 .

[36]  Marcia K. Johnson,et al.  Qualitative effects of rehearsal on memories for perceived and imagined complex events. , 1988 .

[37]  S. Vodanovich,et al.  Boredom proneness and psychosocial development. , 1999, The Journal of psychology.

[38]  M. Beaudet,et al.  A healthy outlook. , 1996, Health reports.

[39]  John McLeod,et al.  The handbook of narrative and psychotherapy: Practice, theory, and research. , 2004 .

[40]  S. Passik,et al.  A pilot study to examine the relationship between boredom and spirituality in cancer patients , 2003, Palliative and Supportive Care.

[41]  Marcia K. Johnson,et al.  Phenomenal characteristics of memories for perceived and imagined autobiographical events. , 1988, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[42]  Stephen J. Vodanovich,et al.  The essence of boredom. , 1993 .

[43]  R. Kuhn.  The Demon of Noontide: Ennui in Western Literature , 1976 .

[44]  T. T. Haug,et al.  The validity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. An updated literature review. , 2002, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[45]  S. Vodanovich,et al.  Boredom proneness: its relationship to psychological- and physical-health symptoms. , 2000, Journal of clinical psychology.

[46]  L. Weinstein,et al.  Purpose in Life, Boredom, and Volunteerism in a Group of Retirees , 1995, Psychological reports.

[47]  Renae D. Duncan,et al.  Roles of Boredom and Life Goals in Juvenile Delinquency1 , 2001 .

[48]  G. Reker,et al.  Factor Structure, Construct Validity and Reliability of the Seeking of Noetic Goals (SONG) and Purpose in Life (PIL) Tests. , 1979 .

[49]  D. MacDonald,et al.  Spirituality and boredom proneness , 2002 .

[50]  W. Zung.  A SELF-RATING DEPRESSION SCALE. , 1965, Archives of general psychiatry.

[51]  R. Almond,et al.  The development of meaning in life. , 1973, Psychiatry.

[52]  T. Seifert,et al.  Work Avoidance as a Manifestation of Hostility, Helplessness, and Boredom , 2002 .

[53]  Michel Hersen,et al.  Comprehensive handbook of psychological assessment , 2004 .

[54]  B. McCormick,et al.  Activity Characteristics and Emotional Experience: Predicting Boredom and Anxiety in the Daily Life of Community Mental Health Clients , 2005 .

[55]  A. Aron,et al.  Shared Activities and Marital Satisfaction: Causal Direction and Self-Expansion versus Boredom , 1993 .

[56]  M. Todman.  Boredom and Psychotic Disorders: Cognitive and Motivational Issues , 2003, Psychiatry.

[57]  R. Farmer,et al.  Boredom proneness--the development and correlates of a new scale. , 1986, Journal of personality assessment.

[58]  C. Honts,et al.  The Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale , 2002, Assessment.

[59]  S. Passik,et al.  A chart review, pilot study of two single-item screens to detect cancer patients at risk for cachexia , 2003, Palliative & Supportive Care.

[60]  William R. Dillon,et al.  Offending Estimates in Covariance Structure Analysis: Comments on the Causes of and Solutions to Heywood Cases , 1987 .

[61]  S. Vodanovich,et al.  Boredom Proneness: Its Relationship to Positive and Negative Affect , 1991, Psychological reports.

[62]  K. Arbuthnott,et al.  Phenomenal characteristics of guided imagery, natural imagery, and autobiographical memories , 2002, Memory & cognition.

[63]  E. Fromm..  The Sane Society , 1955 .

[64]  Steven J. Kass,et al.  A Factor Analytic Study of the Boredom Proneness Scale , 1990 .

[65]  L. Greenberg,et al.  The Contributions of Emotion Processes to Narrative Change in Psychotherapy: A Dialectical Constructivist Approach. , 2004 .

[66]  S. Maddi.  The existential neurosis. , 1967 .

[67]  J. Kreutzer,et al.  Depression assessment after traumatic brain injury: an empirically based classification method. , 2003, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[68]  Leslie S. Greenberg, Juan Pascual-Leone.  A DIALECTICAL CONSTRUCTIVIST VIEW OF THE CREATION OF PERSONAL MEANING , 2001 .

[69]  R. Snaith,et al.  The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale , 1983 .

[70]  G. Reker.  The Purpose-in-Life test in an inmate population: an empirical investigation. , 1977, Journal of clinical psychology.

[71]  Leslie S. Greenberg,et al.  Facilitating Emotional Change: The Moment-by-Moment Process , 1995 .

[72]  A. Blaszczynski,et al.  Boredom Proneness in Pathological Gambling , 1990, Psychological reports.

[73]  Steven J. Kass,et al.  State-Trait Boredom: Relationship to Absenteeism, Tenure, and Job Satisfaction , 2001 .