The mediating role of voluntary simplicity on the relationship between meaning in life and subjective well-being

• Main Author: Tubilleja, Renzo Luigi R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Subjects: Voluntary simplicity movement; Meaning (Psychology); Well-being; Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_psych/78; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_psych/article/1077/viewcontent/2024_Tubilleja_The_mediating_role_of_voluntary_simplicity_on_the_relationship_be.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Previous studies suggest that the more meaningful we feel, the more we experience an increased subjective well-being. That is, we feel happier and more satisfied with our lives and experience fewer negative emotions. Past researchers have seen that meaning in life enables us to be hopeful and optimistic and allows us to feel capable and confident in our actions, and in return, it increases our overall subjective well-being. In this study, it was argued that voluntary simplicity, a lifestyle of low material consumption, can also mediate the relationship between meaning in life and subjective well-being based on Steger’s Unified Model of Meaning in Life. Using a cross-sectional non-experimental method, the study gathered 88 adults aged 18 to 45 years old. They completed measures related to meaning in life, voluntary simplicity, and subjective well-being. The results showed that voluntary simplicity partially mediated the relationship between meaning in life and subjective well-being in the context of the Philippines. The findings provide evidence that even in a low- or middle-income country such as the Philippines, meaning in life expressed through a lifestyle practice of nonmaterial things and intangible experiences such as personal values, relationships, or growth, positively affects our overall subjective well-being. Future researchers may use this study as a backbone for voluntary simplicity in the local context and how simple living may benefit Filipinos in both practical and psychological means.