The Nature, Role, and Development of Purpose

Dear Colleagues,

The present era has brought about unprecedented challenges, which, while seemingly unique, reflect historical cycles of war, epidemics, injustice, violence, and oppression (Ikeda, 2017). Throughout history, humanity has responded to such struggles with various revolutions—economic, industrial, political, and scientific. However, despite these revolutions, lasting change remains elusive until individuals collectively transform their hearts and minds toward a greater good, a process Ikeda (2010a) referred to as human revolution.

Human revolution, as described by Ikeda (2017), involves purposefully engaging in actions grounded in compassion to positively transform the inner core of our own lives and contribute to the lives of others. Inspired by Ikeda’s philosophy and empirical research (e.g., Damon et al., 2003; Sharma et al., 2017; Yukhymenko-Lescroart & Sharma, 2020a), this Special Issue regards a sense of purpose as a critical dimension of human revolution. We define a sense of purpose as the underlying intention behind achieving life’s most important goals, which, when fulfilled, can actualize positive change both in individual lives and in society at large. At the personal level, positive change can manifest as self-growth, wellbeing, success, happiness, and family harmony. At the societal level, it involves contributing to others' lives and making a difference aligned with one’s values and causes.

Abundant research has already shown the positive role of purpose in contributing to individuals mental health, wellbeing, self-efficacy, resilience, life satisfaction, hope, positive affect, identity development, contentment, happiness, academic identity, degree commitment, persistence, and retention (e.g., Benard, 1991; Bronk et al., 2009; Burrow et al., 2010; DeWitz et al., 2009; Hill et al., 2016; Sharma & Yukhymenko-Lescroart, 2018; Yukhymenko-Lescroart & Sharma, 2020b). Sense of purpose can further lead to the advancement of a positive social change by inspiring people to engage in committed actions that align with their life’s passions and the causes they care about. However, in spite of the critical role that life purpose can play in, there is a lack of understanding about how to foster a sense of purpose (Vaccaro et al., 2018) as well as the nature and significance of specific types of purpose.

This Special Issue aims to explore the nature, role, and development of a sense of purpose among people from diverse cultural backgrounds and age-groups. Amidst present crises that people are experiencing worldwide, exploring how people develop a strong sense of purpose will help educators, scholars, and professionals who aspire to engage in purpose-strengthening approaches within and beyond educational institutions. Doing so, as illustrated above, will not only contribute to individual people’s positive identity development, subjective well-being, and success, but also inspire them to advance a positive change in society at large, especially in response to various struggles that the world is currently experiencing.

Through this Special Issue, we will invite submissions using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches to enrich our understanding and foster insights into the nature, role, and development of sense of purpose in the lives of adolescents, emerging adults, and adults.

References

• Benard, B. (1991). Fostering resiliency in kids: Protective factors in the family, school and community. Western Regional Center for Drug Free Schools and Communities, Far West Laboratory. Retrieved from ED335781.pdf
• Bronk, K.C., Hill, P.L., Lapsley, D.K., Talib, T.L., & Finch, H. W. (2009). Purpose, hope, and life satisfaction in three age groups. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 500-510. doi: 10.1080/17439760903271439
• Burrow, A. L., O’Dell, A. C., & Hill, P. L. (2010). Profiles of a developmental Asset: Youth purpose as a context for hope and well-being. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 1265-1273. doi: 10.1007/s10964-009-9481-1
• Damon, W., Menon. J., & Bronk, K. C. (2003). The development of purpose during adolescence. Applied Developmental Science, 7, 119-128. doi: 10.1207/S1532480XADS0703_2
• DeWitz, S. J., Woolsey, M. L., & Walsh, W. B. (2009). College student retention: An exploration of the relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and purpose in life among college students. Journal of College Student Development, 50, 19-35. doi: 10.1353/csd.0.0049
• Hill, P. L., Burrow, A. L., & Bronk, K. C. (2016). Persevering with positivity and purpose: An examination of purpose commitment and positive affect as predictors of grit. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17, 257‐269. doi: 10.1007/s10902-014-9593-5
• Ikeda, D. (2010a). A new humanism: The university lectures of Daisaku Ikeda. London, UK: I.B. Tauris.
• Ikeda, D. (2017). The wisdom for creating happiness and peace. Santa Monica, CA, US: Middleway Press. [selection of excerpts] Retrieved from https://www.sokaglobal.org/resources/study-materials/buddhist-study/the-wisdom-for-creating-happiness-and-peace.html
• Sharma, G., & Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M. A. (2018). The relationship between college students’ sense of purpose and degree commitment. Journal of College Student and Development, 59(4), 486-491. doi: 10.1353/csd.2018.0045
• Sharma, G., Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M.A., & Kang, Z. (2017). Sense of purpose scale: Development and initial validation. Applied Developmental Science, 28, 1-12. doi: 10.1080/10888691.2016.1262262
• Vaccaro, A., Kimball, E.W., Moore, A., Newman, B. M., & Troiano, P. F. (2018). Narrating the self: A grounded theory model of emerging purpose for college students with disabilities. Journal of College Student Development, 59, 37-54. doi: 10.1353/csd.2018.0003
• Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M.A. & Sharma, G. (2020a). Examining the factor structure of the revised Sense of Purpose Scale (SOPS-2) with adults. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 15, 1203-1222. doi: 10.1007/s11482-019-09729-w
• Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M. A., & Sharma, G. (2020b). Sense of purpose and progress towards degree among freshman college students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. Advanced online publication. doi: 10.1177/1521025120975134

Dr. Gitima Sharma
Dr. Mariya A. Yukhymenko-Lescroart
Guest Editors

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• sense of purpose
• life purpose
• purpose development
• identity
• purpose interventions
• adolescents
• adults
• personal transformation
• meaning in life
• wellness