The Ecology of Purposeful Living Across the Lifespan: Developmental, Educational, and Social Perspectives

This book explores what it means to live a purposeful life and outlines  the benefits associated with purpose across different life domains. It  also demonstrates that purpose in life is not reducible to constructs  such as happiness, well-being, or identity development.

The  importance of having a sense of purpose in life is attracting renewed  attention in both scientific and social arenas. Mounting evidence from  intricately designed experiments and large-scale studies reveals how  pursuing a purpose can make a person happier, healthier, and even  lengthen their lifespan. However, existing texts on purpose have said  little on why having has these effects, how it may influence our ability  to navigate diverse environments, or how best to consider the construct  from a multidisciplinary approach that moves beyond psychology.

Recognizing  this gap in the literature, this book provides multidisciplinary  perspectives on the topic of purpose, and examines what we can do as  researchers, interventionists, and society as a whole to imbue  purposefulness in the lives of people across the lifespan. It includes  contributions from key figures on topics such as identity, health, youth  programs and youth purpose, diversity, aging and work.