Abstract:

Problem:
The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which men and women experience life meaningfulness differently and to determine whether and how age affects this experience.

Methods:
The sample included 100 university students aged 19-55 years old (mean age = 24.22, SD = 7.55). Respondents were divided into two groups, women (N = 24) and men (N = 76). We used the Existential Scale questionnaire (ES), which is a 46-item tool that detects a subjective measure of personal meaningful existence in two dimensions: Personality (sub-dimensions Self-distance and Self-transcendence) and Existentiality (sub-dimensions Freedom and Responsibility). Data were analyzed using the software application IBM SPSS Statistics v.25.

Results:
Using an independent t-test, we were not confirmed that life meaningfulness was statistically significantly different for men (M = 91.83, SD = 16.53) and women (M = 96.42, SD = 16.23) in Personality dimension, t(98) = 1.2, p = .23. The independent t-test also shows the personal meaningful existence is not statistically differed for men (M = 94.75, SD = 14.66) and women (M = 93.49, SD = 19.5) in Existentiality dimension, t(98) = .29, p = .11. ES Total Score is also statistically indifferent to women (M = 198.91, SD = 33.67) and men (M = 186.85, SD = 27.52), t(98) = .44, p = .21.

Finally, we analyzed the influence of gender on the relationship between age and life meaningfulness. A Pearson correlation explored the relationship between age and life meaningfulness. This analysis was found to be statistically significant in dimension Personality, r(98) = .32, p < .001, Existentiality, r(98) = .34, p < .001, and ES Total Score, r(98) = .36, p < .001, indicating a positive relationship. This relationship was then subjected to a first-order partial correlation to explore the relationship controlling for the effects of gender. The first-order correlation was found to be statistically nonsignificant, indicating that gender doesn’t affect a relationship between age and life meaningfulness.

Discussion:
The research has some limitations. The research sample consists mostly of a specific group of university humanities students. A more general population may therefore produce different results. Also, the concept of life meaningfulness was measured simply. Future research should distinguish between different types of genders (i.e. non-binary) and monitor gender dysphoria. This could provide further or deeper insight into the issue of the relationship between gender and life meaningfulness.

Conclusion:
Women and men university students don’t significantly differ in their experience of life meaningfulness. The actual impact of gender on life meaningfulness is too small. The research results and lack of studies on certain aspects of this issue indicate the need for further investigation of the topic.

Keywords:

Life meaningfulness, meaning of life, gender, university students, age.