Psychometric character of purpose in life test-short form in college students

Objective To research the psychometric properties and usability of the Purpose in Life Test-Short Form(PIL-SF) for Chinese University students. Methods 997 college students were measured by Purpose in Life (PIL), Meaningful Life Measure (MLM) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and 120 college students were twice measured by the same questionnaire after four weeks. Results The item discrimination index were all above 0.7(r=0.753~0.838, P<0.01). The internal consistency reliability of PIL-SF was 0.811, the split-half reliability was 0.774 and the test-retest reliability was 0.786. The criterion correlations of PIL-SF with PIL, MLM and SWLS was 0.83, 0.67 and 0.46 respectively (P<0.01). The PIL-SF average scores of these students was 5.18±1.09. Most of the college students' meaning of life were at a relatively higher level. There were 10.9% of students lack goals and poor meaning of life, 23.5% of them do not have clear purpose, relatively lower meaning of life, 37.5% of them had relatively higher meaning of life and 28.1% of them hold explicit purpose. Conclusion The reliability and validity of PIL-SF are favorable, and it is a useful tool to be used in the mental health screening and evaluation the people’s meaning in life quickly. Key words: Meaning in life; Purpose in life; Purpose in life test; Reliability; Validity