ArticlePloS one2026
Purpose in life and coping strategies: Main associations and moderation by concurrent distress.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Individuals with more purpose in life tend to report less subjective stress. This association may be due, in part, to the use of more adaptive coping strategies. This research examines how purpose is associated with common coping strategies and whether the relations differ by either sociodemographic factors or current psychological distress. Participants (N = 1,998) completed a survey that included purpose in life, coping strategies, current symptoms of depression and anxiety, and current feelings of stress. Purpose in life was related to more use of active (β = .36, p < .001) and support (β = .32, p < .001) strategies, and less use of disengaged strategies (β = -.08, p < .001). The associations between purpose and coping were similar across sociodemographic factors (age, sex, race, education). The association with disengaged coping differed by current distress (βinteraction = .23, .15, .16, respectively, for depression, anxiety, and stress, all ps < .001): The expected negative association was apparent for participants not in distress, whereas there was a positive association among participants experiencing depression, anxiety, or stress. Purpose in life is associated with coping strategies that can help regulate stress, which may contribute to the lower stress and better psychosocial and health outcomes among people with high purpose.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.