ISSEP-2025-13

GRANT ID#: ISSEP-2025-13

GRANT TITLE: Stable and Fluctuating Meaning in Life: A Qualitative Analysis of Meaning in Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic

GRANTEE: The Pennsylvania State University

PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR: Carolyn Albright

CO-PRIMARY INVESTIGATORS: Gregory Fosco, Sebrina Doyle Fosco

GRANT AMOUNT: USD $2,985

DURATION OF GRANT PROJECT: May 01, 2025 – April 30, 2026

Description of the Project

 

Executive summary:

Our work documents that some people experienced fluctuations in their sense of meaning in life (MIL) during the COVID-19 pandemic, while others’ meaning remained stable.  This tumultuous experience may have long-term implications for their well-being, yet we do not know about the particular factors that predict different trajectories in meaning, how fluctuations in meaning were experienced, and what these processes may predict post-pandemic. The proposed study will address these gaps in the field by investigating the long-term implications of stable and fluctuating MIL by using a comparative mixed methods approach. We will use existing data collected during COVID to identify 36 participants who exhibited various patterns of fluctuations in MIL and conduct semi- structured interviews to add context to secondary data analysis. We will conduct thematic analysis of qualitative data and run path models using quantitative data to predict post- pandemic mental health outcomes.

 

Itemized budget:

Grant funding will cover the expenses detailed below:

  • Personnel – N/A. There are no personnel costs affiliated with this grant. Transcription and interviewing will be conducted by a graduate student and trained undergraduate research assistants who are receiving course credit for their assistance in the lab.

  • Equipment – $105. In order to conduct qualitative analyses and code for themes in the interviews, software is needed. We will be using NVivo, since this software is used across many different disciplines for qualitative research. A student license for NVivo should be adequate for these purposes and costs $105.

  • Participant Incentives: $2,880. This study proposes collection of new data from a sample who has been participating in this project over the past 15 years. The target recruitment for this study is 36 participants. First, participants will be compensated $60 each for completing a 45-minute interview. Each participant will be compensated for their time. Additionally, participants will be given the opportunity to respond to a short member-checking survey following their interview to make sure they agree with the transcript and ideas and to give them time for additional information. These surveys should not take longer than 15-20 minutes, so participants will be compensated $20 each for these surveys.

This project will involve 36 participant interviews at $60 each, 36 participant member-checking surveys at $20 each, and an NVivo Software subscription for thematic coding at $105, for a total of $2,985.

The total amount approved for this project is USD $2,985.

Kenneth Vail