Examining of the relationship between meaning in life and psychological well-being of university students

The aim of this research was to examine the relationship between meaning in life with its sub dimensions and psychological well-being of university students. Moreover, it was also attempted to determine whether the levels of university students' meaning in life and its sub dimensions and psychological well-being differentiate by age and gender in the study. The sample of the study consisted of 597 college students (345 male, 252 female) studying in various departments of the Cukurova University in 2016-2017 academic year. Data in the study collected through "The Meaning In Life Scale" developed by Steger, Frazier, Oishi and Kaler (2006) and adapted into Turkish Culture by Akın and Taş (2011) and "Psychological Well-Being Scale" developed by Ryff and adapted to Turkish by Cenkseven. Data were analyzed by SPSS 22.0 package program. Because data obtained in the research didn't meet the normality premises precisely, analysis was conducted through non-parametric tests. Non-parametric tests, Kruskal Wallis-H test, Mann Whitney U and Spearman Correlation test were applied. Result of research showed that there is a relationship between the meaning in life, presence of meaning and search for meaning and psychological well-being of university students. It was obtained that the meaning in life with its sub-dimensions and psychological well-being differentiate by age significantly. Beside these results, psychological well-being levels of female students were found higher significantly than male students. The results of research were interpreted and discussed in the light of relevant researches in psychology literature; recommendations were made for experts and researchers in the field. Key words: The meaning ın life, psychological well-being, university students, age, gender.