ERIC Number: EJ1323278
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2469-9632
EISSN: N/A
Measuring Purpose in Life in College Students: An Assessment of Invariance Properties by College Year and Undergraduate School
International Journal of Educational Methodology, v7 n4 p603-614 2021
Purpose in life is a key construct in the development of young adults, particularly college students. There are many instruments measuring sense of purpose in life, but few studies have examined their measurement properties among college students. The current study compares the measurement invariance properties of the Purpose in Life (PIL) scale and the Claremont Purpose Scale (CPS) across college year and undergraduate school. Using both a unidimensional and a two-dimensional model, we found that the PIL's interpretability is limited among college students. Using a three-dimensional model, the CPS was invariant with respect to both grouping variables. The study suggests that the CPS can be used to make meaningful comparisons among college students categorized by school year and undergraduate school. The study also has some implications about the construct of purpose in life; namely, scale structures that work well statistically and theoretically among adults might not generalize to young adults.
Descriptors: Goal Orientation, Life Satisfaction, Undergraduate Students, Student Attitudes, Age Differences, Error of Measurement, Young Adults, Measures (Individuals)
Eurasian Society of Educational Research. 7321 Parkway Drive South, Hanover, MD 21076. e-mail: publisher@ijem.com; Web site: https://www.ijem.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Purpose in Life Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A