Presence of meaning in life mediates the effects of gratitude and caring for bliss on flourishing in college students: a three-wave longitudinal study

The well-being of college students is critical to their academic engagement and achievement. This study therefore investigated a mechanism - presence of meaning in life – that might account for the associations between gratitude and caring for bliss and an indicator of well-being, flourishing, using a longitudinal design. Participants were 402 students from the United States who completed questionnaires at three time points over the course of approximately 12 weeks. Gratitude and caring for bliss at time 1 predicted the presence of meaning in life at time 2, which, in turn, predicted flourishing at time 3 controlling for the presence of meaning in life at time 1 and flourishing at time 2. In addition, the presence of meaning in life at time 2 mediated the associations between gratitude and caring for bliss at time 1 and flourishing at time 3. These findings can help refine positive psychology programs to promote students' well-being.