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Objective: A sense of meaning in life (MIL) is thought to help protect people against experiencing explicit anxiety about death. However, the experience of meaning is complex and subjective and may relate to death anxiety in nuanced ways. We examine how self‐alienation—a feeling of not knowing/being disconnected from one's self—might moderate the relationship between MIL and death anxiety. Method: Across five studies, we tested the hypothesis that MIL would negatively predict death anxiety more strongly for people relatively low in self‐alienation. These studies were similar in design and included exploratory, confirmatory, and pre‐registered tests. Results: A meta‐regression across our five studies (N = 2001) provided clear evidence that MIL was most strongly associated with lower death anxiety at low self‐alienation. We also observed that MIL was positively associated with death anxiety at high self‐alienation. These effects were consistent in direction but inconsistent in strength. Conclusions: We interpreted these results as evidence that MIL is existentially protective when experienced in combination with a relatively strong, clear, and connected sense of self. In contrast, MIL may be existentially problematic when people feel relatively unaware and disconnected from themselves. These findings align with aspects of terror management theory and highlight the potentially complex ways that MIL might relate to death anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explored the temporal stability of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), which has not been comprehensively reexamined since it was first published. Our three specific aims were to determine the utility of PAI indicators of basic protocol validity (inconsistent responses [ICN] and highly unusual/unlikely responses [INF]) in identifying suspect responding; calculate the stability coefficients for each PAI scale and subscale across 3-, 6-, and 9-week spans; and explore whether profile stability across four measurements could be prospectively predicted. We administered the PAI to a sample of undergraduates (N = 579) at four separate timepoints. ICN and INF effectively identified likely attriters and inconsistent responders. All PAI full scales and subscales evidenced good test–retest reliability, with some small exceptions. Finally, all PAI clinical scales were correlated with profile instability although many of these correlations were no longer significant when controlling for mean clinical elevation of the profile. We interpreted these results as evidence for the utility of PAI validity scales, the temporal reliability of the PAI, and the role of psychopathology in response variability over time. We also discussed some preliminary evidence that this variability can be prospectively predicted, suggesting that it in part reflects substantive changes rather than random error variance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many factors likely impact how people create meaning out of their lives. Certain psychological disorders may affect these processes, necessitating the reliance on atypical meaning-making strategies. Across two studies, we tested the hypothesis that the tendency to engage in mental fantasies would be associated with higher meaning in life for people with elevated symptoms of depression. In Study 1 (N = 455Mturk workers), fantasy proneness positively predicted meaning at high levels of depression, but was unrelated at low levels of depression. We replicated this pattern in Study 2 (N = 367), which was preregistered, using the baseline survey of a multi-wave design. In addition, across six weekly measurements, we observed that depression moderated the relationship between fantasy and meaning at the between-person, but not within-person, level. These findings have implications for understanding idiosyncrasies in meaning-making, the role of depression in meaning-making processes, and the potential positive functions of fantasy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of college students was investigated in a cross-sectional design using the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991, 2007). Three large samples of college students were recruited for research purposes and given standard instructions: 825 students from two universities assessed in the 2021–2022 academic year (postpandemic), 558 students from three universities assessed between 2016 and 2019 (prepandemic), and 1,051 students from seven universities assessed in 1989 and 1990 (college norms). Comparisons of PAI scores with the prepandemic cohort revealed several significantly higher scores in the postpandemic cohort, especially for scales related to anxiety and depression. Comparisons with the college norms revealed significantly higher scores on several PAI scales in the prepandemic cohort, and these differences were largest for scales related to anxiety, depression, and somatic symptoms. PAI scales related to impulsivity, alcohol use, and other behavior problems showed no changes or decline from earlier to later cohorts. Taken together, the findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified problems with anxiety and depression that existed before the pandemic. Public Significance Statement: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted the lives of college students, creating public concern about its impact on their mental health. The present study compared self-ratings of symptoms and problems between three cohorts of students. Students assessed postpandemic reported significantly more symptoms of anxiety and depression than students assessed prepandemic, and these two cohorts are reporting more symptoms in many areas than a cohort of students assessed 25 years earlier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined how the attribution of criminal behavior to an individual's "true" self influences justice preferences. In Study 1 (N = 521), the extent to which undergraduates attributed a crime to a target's true self positively predicted their endorsement of a retributive form of punishment and negatively predicted their endorsement of a restorative form of punishment. Study 2 (N = 404) was preregistered and replicated these associations, even when controlling for other perceived causes (e.g., personality, environment). In Study 3 (N = 282), undergraduates rated retributive punishment more favorably and restorative punishment less favorably when induced to think that the crime was (vs. was not) reflective of the target's true self. Study 4 (N = 935) was preregistered and replicated these experimental effects across different types of crime vignettes in an online sample. These results highlight the ways that intuitions about "true" selves shape punishment preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]