In the literature on positive youth development, meaning in life has been identified as an important factor influencing the well-being and risk behaviour of adolescents. In contrast, fewer studies have been conducted to understand the antecedents of life meaning in adolescents. In particular, there is a lack of studies examining how different dyadic family factors (such as parenting) and systemic family processes (such as family atmosphere) influence adolescent life meaning. Furthermore, related studies are also almost non-existent in different Chinese contexts.
Based on a 6-year longitudinal study involving a large sample of high school students in Hong Kong, cross-sectional and longitudinal findings provided support for the following hypotheses: a) parental behavioural control is positively related to adolescent life meaning; b) parental psychological control is negatively related to adolescent life meaning; c) parent-child relational quality is positively related to adolescent life meaning; d) systemic family functioning is positively related to purpose in life in adolescents. Theoretically, the findings suggest that dyadic and systemic family processes play an important role in shaping life meaning in adolescents. Practically, the findings underscore the importance of promoting the quality of family life to nurture adolescent meaning in life.