SynthesisJournal of affective disorders2026
Purpose in life and depressive symptoms: An individual-participant meta-analysis of >500,000 participants across six world regions.
Synthesis in Journal of affective disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Purpose in life and mortality: A meta-analysis of the published literature and individual-participant data of 488,765 participants followed for up to 32 years.Psychological medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Purpose in life and blood-based biomarkers of brain health.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026Article
- Purpose in life and coping strategies: Main associations and moderation by concurrent distress.PloS one · 2026Article
- Associations between parenting styles and depressive symptoms in college students: a sequential mediation model and a preliminary randomized study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePurpose in life is an aspect of eudaimonic well-being associated with better mental health. This research evaluated the generalizability and robustness of the association between purpose in life and concurrent depressive symptoms.
methodsAn individual-participant meta-analysis of 72 samples of 531,038 participants. Each sample used the same analytic approach: Linear regression tested whether purpose was associated with depressive symptoms controlling for sociodemographic factors (age, sex, race, ethnicity, education). Results across samples were summarized with a random-effects meta-analysis. Moderation by sociodemographic factors was tested in each sample and with meta-regression within the meta-analysis. Additional analyses tested whether purpose was associated with elevated depressive symptoms and with two specific symptoms (depressed affect, anhedonia).
resultsThere was a significant negative association between purpose in life and depressive symptoms in 71 of the 72 samples (meta-analytic estimate = -0.32, 95 % CI = -0.35, -0.30, p < .001). Heterogeneity in the strength of the association was not explained by methodological, economic, or geographical factors. The association was slightly stronger among females and white participants, compared to males and black participants, respectively; the association was similar across age, ethnicity, and education. Every standard deviation in purpose was associated with about 90 % lower likelihood of severe distress (meta-analytic odds ratio = 0.53, 95 % CI = 0.50, 0.57, p < .001). The association was similar for depressed affect (meta-analytic estimate = -0.33, 95 % CI = -0.40, -0.26, p < .001) and anhedonia (meta-analytic estimate = -0.32, 95 % CI = -0.38,-0.26, p < .001).
conclusionThe association between purpose in life and depressive symptoms is apparent across geographic regions and sociodemographic and economic factors, which suggests it may be robust and generalizable.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.