The Relationship Between Meaning in Life, Emotions and

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The European Journal of Counselling Psychology ejcop.psychopen.eu | 2195-7614

The Relationship Between Meaning in Life, Emotions and Psychological Illness: The Moderating Role of the Effects of the Economic Crisis a

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Christos Pezirkianidis* , Anastassios Stalikas , Evgenia Efstathiou , Eirini Karakasidou

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[a] Department of Psychology, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece.

The European Journal of Counselling Psychology, 2016, Vol. 4(1), 77–100, doi:10.5964/ejcop.v4i1.75 Received: 2015-05-05. Accepted: 2015-11-13. Published (VoR): 2016-03-23. *Corresponding author at: Isiodou 29, Gerakas, 15344, Attica, Greece. Tel.: +306972417309. E-mail: [email protected] This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Introduction The Greek Economic Crisis Greece represents a social framework where an extreme and rapidly unfolding social and economic crisis takes place, characterized by: high unemployment, major income loss, steep tax increases and a significant reduction in the provision of social, medical and educational services (Potamianos & Gitakos, 2015). Greeks are among the least optimistic European citizens and rank at the lowest levels of well-being among the 27 European countries of the European Union (Eurofound, 2013). Greece has the highest unemployment rate in the European Union (EUROSTAT, 2015) and according to the latest statistics, unemployment in Greece in the first trimester of 2015 has reached 25.7%, with women’s unemployment rate at 29.6% and youth’s unemployment rate over 50% (ELSTAT, 2015). The number of people, who live without any income from work, has doubled in Greece (OECD, 2014) and there has been an important increase in psychological illnesses because of the economic crisis (Bouras & Likouras, 2011; Efthimiou, Argalia, Kaskaba, & Makri, 2013; Madianos, Economou, Alexiou, & Stefanis, 2011). The economic crisis affects the life and self-concept of people, who realize that they have to face and cope with issues, such as: decreased income, unemployment and a decrease in available social, health and educational services, just to name a few (Bouras & Likouras, 2011; Efthimiou et al., 2013). The practical and emotional consequences of the crisis are negatively related to presence of meaning, life satisfaction (Deiktakis, Pezirkianidis, & Stalikas, 2014), psychological resilience and subjective happiness (Manolakou, Pezirkianidis, & Stalikas, 2014) and positively correlated to searching for meaning in life (Deiktakis et al., 2014).

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The crisis causes an economic insecurity for both the employed and the unemployed, with a detrimental effect to their self-esteem (Potamianos & Gitakos, 2015). Research has shown that there is a correlation between crisis and a decrease in health and life expectancy, as well as an increase in morbidity and death rate (Malliarou & Sarafis, 2012). High risk groups that are affected the most are: people with a psychological disorder (Polaki, Skapinakis, & Niakas, 2007), the elderly (Fenge et al., 2012), single-parent families, ethnic minorities and immigrants (Wahlbeck & McDaid, 2012). Research indicates that even employed people are affected by the economic crisis, albeit in different ways. In the context of an economic crisis, the employment conditions deteriorate and are characterized by high levels of insecurity, long working hours, overloaded schedules and increased demands, leading to increased levels of stress, anxiety and burnout (Bouras & Likouras, 2011; Koronaiou, 2010). Moreover, a lot of people in Greece, especially the young ones, work under conditions of black and undeclared employment during the economic crisis. Pezirkianidis and Coccosi (2013) in their study found that young people in Greece, who work illegally, report significantly lower levels of quality of life than those who work legally. Also, testing for gender differences revealed that the percentage of having a part-time or an illegal occupation was higher among young women, 18 to 34 years old, than men of the same age. Many studies have indicated that economic crisis has a significant impact on mental health. Findings from a Greek sample showed that individuals, who face serious financial difficulties, report higher levels of depression (Madianos et al., 2011), “death wishes”, suicidality (Economou et al., 2013; Giotakos, Karabelas, & Kafkas, 2011) and heroin use (Kentikelenis et al., 2011). Women are more likely to manifest depressive (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2001; Sadock & Sadock, 2012), anxiety (Kinrys & Wygant, 2005; Sadock & Sadock, 2012) and stress symptoms than men (APA, 2011, 2012). Unemployment is reported as the 8th most stressful factor in people’s lives (Karaiskou, Malliarou, & Sarafis, 2012). It is one of the most detrimental consequences of the economic crisis and it has been found to be related to low levels of quality of life, self-esteem, resilience and life satisfaction (Deiktakis et al., 2014; Manolakou et al., 2014; Pezirkianidis & Coccosi, 2013). As a matter of fact, even though there is stability in life satisfaction during adulthood, unemployment is a life event, which can alter an individual’s long term level of life satisfaction (Lucas, Clark, Georgellis, & Diener, 2004). Unemployed people report lower levels of well-being, higher levels of psychological disorders, an increase of substance and alcohol abuse, antisocial behavior (Bouras & Likouras, 2011), gambling and more physical illnesses such as liver cirrhosis and ulcers of the peptic system (Potamianos & Gitakos, 2015). Unemployment has also been found to be positively related to strong feelings of helplessness, desperation and alienation of the natural and social environment (Bouras & Likouras, 2011; World Health Organization, 2011). Paul and Moser (2009) reported that the percentage of people with psychiatric problems was two times higher among the unemployed (34%), compared to the employed (16%). Unemployed people report more frequent higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress (Bouras & Likouras, 2011). An increase of unemployment correlates with an exaggeration of: suicides, visits in mental institutions, murders, death rate due to alcoholism and general death rate (Potamianos & Gitakos, 2015). The effects of an economic crisis go beyond unemployment and have direct effects on the nucleus of society: the family. The frequent conflicts, the exertion of verbal and physical violence, the frequent changes in accommodation and the overall social instability, constitute stressful factors, to which mainly the poorest families are exposed (Wadsworth & Berger, 2006; Wadsworth et al., 2008). Children who live in poverty

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tend to manifest poorer physical, cognitive and social development, school performance, relationships with their peers, behavioral and psychological problems and emotional difficulties (Polaki et al., 2007; Wahlbeck & McDaid, 2012). It becomes clear that the economic crisis constitutes a new reality with significant implications for the overall well-being of people. In this social and economic framework, the identification of variables that can act as buffers and can contribute to the protection of psychological health are of high priority and importance for the provision of mental health services. It has been suggested that the experiencing of positive emotions and the presence of meaning in life contribute significantly to people’s flourishing and well-being (Seligman, 2011; Sepulveda, 2013; Steger & Shin, 2010). Both positive emotions and meaning in life are related to greater life satisfaction, higher levels of hope and better psychological and physical health (Stalikas & Mitskidou, 2011). There have been no studies examining the possible beneficial role of experiencing positive emotions and the presence of meaning in life in an economic crisis context. Identifying the possible beneficial role of these variables in people’s psychological health would be useful to counseling psychologists and mental health service providers in general.

Positive Emotions It has been recently suggested that experiencing positive emotions contributes significantly to psychological health (Lopez & Snyder, 2011) by fostering resilience (Fredrickson, 2003; Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). The Broaden-and-Build theory of positive emotion (Fredrickson, 1998) posits that when people, even momentarily, experience positive emotions, they widen the array of possible thoughts and actions (Fredrickson, 2004; Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005). While negative emotions are regarded as action tendencies that focus individuals to escape, when afraid, or to attack, when angry, positive emotions are conceptualized as having a broadening, adaptive value. Following momentary experiences of positive emotions, individuals are more open and feel the urge to contemplate new ideas, develop alternative solutions to problems, re-interpret their situations, reflect on behaviors and initiate new courses of action and creative endeavors. Positive emotions widen the focus to allow new information into the system. The new ideas, possibilities, approaches and initiatives build enduring physical, intellectual, social and psychological resources and foster psychological resilience (Fredrickson, 2003). The experience of a positive emotion is momentary; however, the resources that are built as a result of the widening of focus are long-lived and represent the ultimate gain. The Broaden-and-Build theory posits two change mechanisms; the first is an upward spiral in which momentary experiences of a positive emotion engender broadening; broadening in turn, creates more positive emotion. The process of upward spiraling facilitates the boost in all kinds of resources; among them the psychological ones. Experiences of broadening are cumulative; new thoughts, perspectives and choices remain available within the individual like some sort of ammunition storage (Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh, & Larkin, 2003; Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). These resources, built by the broadening process, can predict individual’s levels of psychopathology, since positive emotions protect people against the emotional consequences of depressive and anxiety disorders (Garland et al., 2010). Empirical evidence supporting the spiral process has begun to accumulate (Fredrickson & Joiner, 2002). Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey, Pek, and Finkel (2008) conducted a randomized, controlled trial study applying an intervention in order to increase people’s positive emotions. The results of the study supported the Broaden-and-Build theory, indicating that an

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increase in positive emotions provokes a boost in psychological resources, which in turn cause an increase in life satisfaction and a reduction in depressive symptoms. The second process proposed by the Broaden-and-Build theory is the “Undoing Hypothesis” (Fredrickson, 2001; Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998; Fredrickson, Mancuso, Branigan, & Tugade, 2000). It has been suggested that experiencing positive emotions “undoes” or “cancels” the negative effects of experiencing negative emotions. Negative emotions provoke downward spirals, which cause self-perpetuating and self-damaging cycles of negative beliefs, rigid acts and low quality relationships characterized by a narrow self-focus that can trigger psychological symptoms. At the same time, depression and anxiety disorders build and/or reinforce the downward spirals and hinder the boost of the upward spiral processes (Garland et al., 2010). Research studies have supported the Broaden-and-Build theory, confirming that experiencing positive emotions contributes to psychological health. Individuals, who experience higher levels of positive emotions, derive more benefits from their job and interpersonal relationships (Wright & Cropanzano, 2000), manifest fewer psychiatric disorders and physical symptoms (Garland et al., 2010; Stalikas & Mitskidou, 2011) and report higher levels of psychological resilience, happiness, life satisfaction (Fredrickson et al., 2008; Seligman, 2002) and well-being (Seligman, 2011). Additionally, positive emotions can play a fundamental role in the psychotherapeutic and counseling process (Ehrenreich, Fairholme, Buzzella, Ellard, & Barlow, 2007), since broadening help patients improve on some important skills, transit to a state of open mindedness, learn how to solve problems and how to be more creative and become receptive to new experiences and feedback (Stalikas, Boutri, Dimitriadou, Sergianni, & Mertika, 2007). Looking at gender differences, men report more frequent experiences of positive emotions than women, while women report more frequent experiences of negative emotions. More specifically, men feel more frequent feelings of calm and excitement, whereas women report higher levels of sadness and anxiety (Simon & Nath, 2004). In closing, it seems that experiencing positive emotions has beneficial effects to human health and thriving. Examining their role in the context of an economic crisis could provide valuable tools for building psychological resilience in the counseling process.

Meaning in Life One of the main aims for counseling psychologists is to decrease the distress and increase the well-being of their clients (Steger, Frazier, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006). Meaning in life is linked to the promotion of client’s growth and recovery and constitutes one of the main components of well-being, since its presence provides the required conditions from which happiness arises (Fulmer, 2015; Lopez & Snyder, 2011; Steger et al., 2006). Creating meaning is a unique human ability of great evolutionary importance. The same perceived phenomenon can be interpreted, understood and assigned different meaning(s) by different people (Lopez & Snyder, 2011). There are three fundamental definitions of the concept of meaning in life. First, meaning has been regarded as a synonym to purpose, which refers to individuals’ long-term goals, generating motivation, commitment and passion (Frankl, 1963). Second, meaning in life has been defined as representing significance, implying that people exper-

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ience meaning only when they accomplish something significant in their lives. Finally, the third definition combines the previous two and adds a sense of personal fulfillment (Lopez & Snyder, 2011). Meaning in life constitutes an important variable of several theories of well-being (King & Napa, 1998). Seligman (2002), in his theory of happiness, refers to the meaningful life as the ultimate way in order to achieve authentic happiness and life satisfaction. In addition, according to the PERMA theory (Seligman, 2011), the European Social Survey theory (Huppert & So, 2013) and the Flourishing theory (Diener et al., 2010), meaning in life is one of the most essential variables that contribute to well-being (Hone, Jarden, Schofield, & Duncan, 2014). Research findings indicate that having meaning in life is related positively to a variety of well-being indices (Reker & Chamberlain, 2000; Steger & Shin, 2010), such as: positive affect, self-esteem, optimism, hope, happiness, curiosity, self-actualization, positive social interaction (Steger & Kashdan, 2007; Steger, Kawabata, Shimai, & Otake, 2008; Steger & Shin, 2010), life satisfaction (Bonebright, Clay, & Ankenmann, 2000), well-being and quality of life in adolescents (Brassai, Piko, & Steger, 2011), stronger control over life and higher engagement in work (Lopez & Snyder, 2011). Moreover, individuals with high levels of meaning in life tend to have lower levels of negative affect, suicidal ideation and substance abuse (Steger & Kashdan, 2007; Steger, Kashdan, Sullivan, & Lorentz, 2008) and a lesser need for psychotherapy (Lopez & Snyder, 2011). Also, presence of meaning in life was found to predict the levels of individual’s depressive and anxiety symptoms (Steger, Mann, Michels, & Cooper, 2009). A lack of meaning in people’s lives should stimulate them to search for it. Thus, searching for meaning in life is a cardinal human motivation (Steger & Kashdan, 2007). Searching for meaning means that people try to establish and/or increase their understanding of the meaning, significance and purpose of their lives (Steger, Kawabata, et al., 2008). The procedure of searching for meaning in life provokes a dissonance between the reality and what a person hopes for and an ambiguity about the way the person perceives the past and present. When levels of searching for meaning in life are high, levels of life satisfaction are low (Steger, Kashdan, Sullivan, & Lorentz, 2008). More specifically, the search for meaning in life is found to predict depression and anxiety levels (Steger, Mann, et al., 2009) and to be related to higher neuroticism (Steger et al., 2006), lower levels of happiness, life satisfaction (Park, Park, & Peterson, 2010), well-being and higher levels of negative affect (Steger, Kawabata, et al., 2008). It seems that searching for meaning in life has negative effects on human functioning, whereas already having meaning in life is connected closely to positive human functioning (Lopez & Snyder, 2011). People, who search for meaning and lack a sense of meaning in their lives, report the worst health and the highest anxiety levels (Steger, Mann, et al., 2009). However, the search for meaning is crucially essential to the well-being process of the individual, since it can result in the achievement of having meaning in life (Steger & Kashdan, 2007). Research results indicated that searching for meaning and presence of meaning in life are negatively correlated (Steger et al., 2006). Nevertheless, a lot of people report that their lives are meaningful and simultaneously search for new or additional sources of meaning in their lives (Steger, Kawabata, et al., 2008). Moreover, people, who find meaning in a short period of the searching process, seem to report higher levels of life satisfaction than those who keep searching for meaning for a long period of time. Furthermore, searching for meaning in life seems to be a trait that is remarkably stable in time. In other words, people who perceive that their life is meaningful and satisfying have hardly any possibility to search for meaning. On the other hand, those who usually search for meaning in their lives have a slim chance in finding it. Thus, there is a complex, dynamic interaction between searching for meaning, presence of meaning and well-being (Steger & Kashdan, 2007).

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Regarding gender differences, Steger, Oishi, and Kashdan (2009) in an 8,756 participants study, found no significant differences between men and women concerning presence of, or searching for meaning in life. Meaning in life is significantly linked to experiencing positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2001), since the presence of meaning in life triggers the experiencing of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2000). Pan, Wong, Chan, and Joubert (2008) underlined that meaning in life is the most powerful predictive factor of experiencing positive emotions. This experience in turn broadens thinking, predisposes individuals to feel that life is meaningful and increases the likelihood of finding meaning in life (Fredrickson, 2000; King, Hicks, Krull, & Del Gaiso, 2006). In other words, experiencing positive emotions assists people to find meaning in life more easily and avoid meaningless endeavors (King et al., 2006). To sum up, previous research results indicate that experiencing positive or negative emotions, having meaning or searching for meaning in life and psychological symptoms significantly predict each other. Furthermore, economic crisis consequences seem to have a detrimental effect on individual’s psychological health and well-being, components of which are experiencing positive emotions and presence of meaning in life.

The Present Study The present study examines (a) the relationship among experiencing positive and negative emotions, meaning in life, depression, anxiety and stress and effects of the economic crisis, (b) the existence of significant gender and employment – unemployment differences on the aforementioned variables, (c) the predictive relationship among experiencing positive and negative emotions, meaning in life, depression, anxiety and stress and (d) the moderating role of the effects of the economic crisis in the aforementioned predictive relationships.

Method Participants and Procedure The sample consisted of 4,597 Greek adults (1,439 men, 31.3%, 2,187 women, 47.6% and 971 missing, 21.1%), aging from 18 to 83 years old. The mean age for the total sample was Mage = 38.17, SD = 12.80, for men Mage = 38.54, SD = 13.21 and for women Mage = 37.75, SD = 12.71. The majority of the participants were employed (3,625 employed, 78.9%, 932 unemployed, 20.3%, 40 missing, .09%). The present data are a subset of a larger data bank with more than 11,000 participants of an ongoing longitudinal study, which started in 2008, examining the effects of the economic crisis on the psychological health of Greeks in relation to several variables including the ones selected for this study. The present data were collected during the years 2010 to 2014 with the help of undergraduate psychology students, who volunteered to administer the battery of tests. The volunteers were told that the purpose of the study was to examine the effects of the economic crisis on the well-being of Greeks and they were trained on the distribution, administration and collection of the questionnaires. Each student administered the battery of tests to 15 adult individuals among their social milieu. Every year approximately 100 students participated, resulting in the collection of approximately 1,500 participants. Administration was done individually and was completed in approximately 20 minutes. The data were recorded th

on answer sheets, were scanned using the 6 Version of Remark Office OMR and analyzed using the SPSS program (Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 18).

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Measures Demographics Demographic information included: gender, age, education level, marital and occupational status and annual income. Positive and Negative Emotions The mDES (Fredrickson et al., 2003) asks participants to recall the past 2 weeks and rate their strongest experience of each of 20 specific emotions on a 5 point Likert scale (1 - Not At All to 5 - Extremely). We used the Greek version of the instrument (mDES, Galanakis & Stalikas, 2012). The answers were combined and yielded a 9-item positive emotions subscale (Pos. Em.; e.g., “I have felt grateful, appreciative, thankful”) that included: joy, serenity, amusement, gratitude, hope, interest, love, pride and sexual desire and a 7-item negative emotions subscale (Neg. Em.; e.g., “I have felt sad, downhearted, unhappy”) that included: anger, shame, humiliation, disgust, repentance and sadness. In our sample, these subscales demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas .83 and .75, respectively). Meaning in Life The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2006; Steger, Kashdan, et al., 2008) examines the presence of meaning and the search for meaning using 10 items rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from “Absolutely Untrue” to “Absolutely True”. The subscale of Presence of Meaning (PresenceM.) intends to capture the extent to which participants feel that their lives currently have meaning (e.g., “My life has a clear sense of purpose”), whereas the subscale of Search for Meaning (SearchM.) intends to capture the extent to which participants are motivated and engaged in finding meaning in their lives (e.g., “I am seeking a purpose or mission for my life”). We used the Greek version of the instrument (MLQ; Filippi & Stalikas, 2012). In our sample, the two subscales demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas .79 and .73, respectively). Psychological Health The Greek version of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS; Stalikas & Flora, 2012; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) was used to measure three related negative emotional states: depression (e.g., “I couldn’t seem to experience any positive feeling at all”), anxiety (e.g., “I found myself in situations that made me so anxious I was most relieved when they ended”) and tension/stress (e.g., “I found it difficult to relax”). Participants were asked to indicate the presence of 21 symptoms “over the previous week”. Each item was rated from 1 (Did Not Apply to Me At All) to 4 (Applied to Me Very Much or Most of the Time). Each of the three subscales consisted of seven items. In our sample the three subscales demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas .90, .90 and .89, respectively). Economic Crisis Effects We constructed a 10-item scale in order to assess the degree that participants were affected, at a practical and a psychological level, from the economic crisis. Each item was rated from 1 (Not At All) to 5 (Very Much). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to reveal the factor structure of the scale (see Table 1). Two factors were extracted that explained 57.55 percent of the total variance. The first factor consisted of seven items and centered on crisis consequences (CrisisC.; e.g. “I am struggling to correspond to my personal or family expenses”) and the second one of two items centered on fears of making changes in one’s life (FearC.; e.g. “I am afraid of making changes in my job”). One item was not loading on any factor and was eliminated from the scale. In our sample those subscales demonstrated satisfying internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas .82 and .68, respectively).

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Table 1 Principal Component Analysis of Economic Crisis Effects Scale Factor Loading Item

Component 1

1. I have reduced my personal expenses (for example trips, gym, clothes etc).

.877

2. I have reduced my social expenses (for example restaurants, theatres etc).

.827

3. I am struggling to correspond to my personal or family expenses.

.807

4. I feel insecurity for what the future has in store for me.

.755

5. My personal or family income has been reduced.

.573

6. I worry that a member of my family may lose its job.

.532

7. I am afraid that it is possible that in the immediate future I won’t be able to correspond to my

.465

Component 2

.333

needs (personal or family financial demands) or my family needs. 8. I am afraid of making changes in my job.

.851

9. I am afraid of making important changes in my life.

.841

Percent of Variance Explained

42.73

Total Variance Explained

14.82 57.55

Note. Rotation method: Oblimin.

Results Relationships Among the Main Variables Significant and strong correlations were found among most of the main variables of the study by using Pearson r (see Table 2). It is not surprising that the data indicate that: (a) higher levels of experiencing positive emotions are positively related to presence of meaning in life and negatively related to levels of experiencing negative emotions, depression, anxiety, stress, economic crisis consequences and fear to make changes in life, (b) experiencing negative emotions is positively related to depression, anxiety, stress, crisis consequences and fear to make changes in life and negatively related to the levels of presence of meaning in life, (c) depression, stress and anxiety levels are positively related to one another and fear to make changes in life and economic crisis consequences and are negatively related to the presence of meaning in life and (d) presence of meaning in life is negatively correlated to economic crisis consequences and fear to make changes in life. It is surprising, however, that (e) searching for meaning is positively correlated with experiencing positive emotions and stress and that there is no significant correlation among searching for meaning and experiencing negative emotions, depression, anxiety, presence of meaning and crisis effects.

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Table 2 Correlations Between Study Main Variables (N = 4597) Variable

M

SD

1

2

3

4

1. Pos. Em.

28.03

7,61

2. Neg. Em.

25.23

5,31

-.27***

3. Depression

8.03

5,31

-.35***

.48***

4. Anxiety

6.82

5,13

-.14***

.41***

.79***

5. Stress

10.58

5,32

-.20***

.47***

.79***

.79***

6. PresenceM.

25.98

5,87

.23***

-.17***

-.27***

-.17***

7. SearchM.

23.46

8,40

.09***

8. CrisisC.

22.81

6,62

9. FearC.

6.07

4,17

5

-.16***

6

7

.03

.02

.03

.03

.05***

-.23***

.28***

.28***

.23***

.23***

-.09***

-.01

-.14***

.16***

.13***

.10***

.11***

-.09***

.00

8

9

.34***

-

***p < .001.

Overall Gender Differences In order to examine gender differences regarding the main variables of this study, we conducted independent samples t-tests. As Table 3 indicates, women report significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, stress, experiencing negative emotions, searching for meaning, fear to make changes in their lives and of economic crisis consequences. There were no significant gender differences in experiencing positive emotions and in the presence of life meaning. Table 3 Variable Means for Men and Women. M (SD) Variable

Men

Women

t

df

Pos. Em.

27.69 (7.55)

27.96 (7.73)

-1.03

3624

Neg. Em.

15.01 (5.34)

15.38 (5.33)

-2.03*

3624

Depression

8.48 (5.17)

8.93 (5.35)

-2.54*

3624

Anxiety

7.07 (4.95)

7.77 (5.11)

-4.09***

3624

Stress

10.96 (5.38)

11.52 (5.16)

-3.14**

3624

PresenceM.

25.77 (5.81)

26.00 (5.92)

-1.16

3622

SearchM.

23.22 (6.67)

23.92 (9.90)

-2.35*

3624

CrisisC.

21.68 (6.50)

23.15 (6.38)

-6.73***

3624

FearC.

5.74 (4.28)

6.13 (2.24)

-3.16***

1961

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Overall Differences Between the Employed and the Unemployed Similarly, independent samples t-tests were conducted to examine possible differences on the main variables of the study between the employed and the unemployed. As Table 4 depicts, employed individuals report significantly higher levels of presence of meaning in their lives, whereas unemployed individuals report higher levels of economic crisis consequences, higher experiencing of negative emotions and higher levels of searching for meaning,

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depression, anxiety and stress. There were no significant differences in experiencing positive emotions and in fears regarding life changes because of the financial crisis. Table 4 Variable Means for Employed and Unemployed M (SD) Variable

Employed

Pos. Em.

28.06 (7.61)

Neg. Em.

15.11 (5.28)

Unemployed

t

df

27.92 (7.63)

.51

4555

15.67 (5.40)

-2.88**

4555

Depression

7.77 (5.26)

9.03 (5.38)

-6.48***

4555

Anxiety

6.56 (5.06)

7.78 (5.20)

-6.52***

4555

Stress

10.34 (5.30)

11.46 (5.30)

-5.75***

4555

PresenceM.

26.22 (5.82)

25.08 (5.95)

5.27***

1423

SearchM.

23.30 (8.89)

24.06 (6.20)

-3.03**

2031

CrisisC.

22.41 (6.47)

24.30 (7.03)

-7.81***

4555

FearC.

6.07 (3.23)

6.04 (6.71)

.22

4555

**p < .01. ***p < .001.

Regression Analyses We conducted a stepwise regression analysis to construct a prediction model for every one of the main study variables (positive and negative emotions, presence of meaning and search for meaning, and depression, anxiety and stress) based on the theoretical frame presented in the introduction. First of all, we tested if emotion variables can be predicted by meaning in life, depression, anxiety and stress (see 2

Table 5). Results indicated that 20 percent of a person’s positive emotions (R = .20) can be significantly predicted by lower levels of depression (β = -.86, p < .001) and anxiety (β = -.52, p < .001) and higher levels of presence of meaning (β = .17, p < .001) and searching for meaning in life (β = .10, p < .001). Furthermore, higher levels of depression (β = .27, p < .001) and stress (β = .25, p < .001) and lower levels of presence of meaning (β = -.05, 2

p < .001) can predict 25 percent of the experiencing of negative emotions (R = .25).

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Table 5 Multiple Regression for the Prediction of Positive and Negative Emotions by the Psychopathology and Meaning in Life Variables (N = 4594) Step 1 (β)

Step 2 (β)

Step 3 (β)

Step 4 (β)

Pos. Em. -.50***

Depression Anxiety

-.92***

-.85***

-.86***

-.55***

-.52***

-.52***

.17***

.17***

PresenceM.

.10***

SearchM. 2

.12

.17

.19

R Change

2

.12

.05

.02

.01

F Change

645.58***

278.38***

93.56***

52.25***

.48***

.29***

.27***

R

.20

Neg. Em. Depression

.24***

Stress R

.25*** -.05***

PresenceM. 2

.23

.25

2

.23

.02

.00

129.01***

15.45***

R Change F Change

1341.68***

.25

***p < .001.

Then, we tested if meaning in life variables can be predicted by experiencing positive and negative emotions, 2

depression, anxiety and stress. As Table 6 depicts, ten percent of an individual’s presence of meaning in life (R = .10) can be significantly predicted by lower scores on depression (β = -.33, p < .001) and experiencing negative emotions (β = -.05, p < .05) and higher scores on stress (β = .13, p < .001) and experiencing positive emotions (β = .11, p < .001). Moreover, high levels of experiencing positive emotions (β = .11, p < .001) and stress (β = 2

.12, p < .001) predict significantly one percent of the levels of searching for meaning in life (R = .01).

Table 6 Multiple Regression for the Prediction of Presence of Meaning and Searching for Meaning by the Psychopathology and Emotion Variables (N = 4596) Step 1 (β)

Step 2 (β)

Step 3 (β)

Step 4 (β)

PresenceM. -.30***

Depression Pos. Em.

-.24***

-.34***

-.33***

.12***

.12***

.11***

.12***

Stress

.13*** -.05*

Neg. Em. 2

.07

.10

.10

.10

2

R Change

.07

.02

.00

.00

F Change

365.75***

111.87***

21.42***

6.33*

.09***

.11***

R

SearchM. Pos. Em.

.12***

Stress 2

.01

.01

R Change

2

.01

.01

F Change

33.15***

23.58***

R

*p < .05. ***p < .001.

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We also tested if experiencing positive and negative emotions and meaning in life variables can predict depression, anxiety and stress (see Table 7). Results showed that depression levels can be strongly and significantly predicted 2

(R = .31) by higher levels of experiencing negative emotions (β = .39, p < .001), searching for meaning in life (β = .04, p < .001), lower levels of experiencing positive emotions (β = -.15, p < .001) and presence of meaning 2

(β = -.14, p < .001). Anxiety can be predicted (R = .18) by higher levels of experiencing negative emotions (β = .38, p < .001), searching for meaning in life (β = .02, p < .05) and lower levels of presence of meaning (β = -.10, p < .001). Last but not least, it was found that high levels of experiencing negative emotions (β = .43, p < .001) and searching for meaning in life (β = .05, p < .001) and low levels of presence of meaning (β = -.07, p < .001) 2

and experiencing positive emotions (β = -.05, p < .001) can predict 23 percent of a person’s stress levels (R = .23). Table 7 Multiple Regression for the Prediction of Depression, Anxiety and Stress by the Meaning in Life and Emotion Variables (N = 4594). Step 1 (β)

Step 2 (β)

Step 3 (β)

Step 4 (β)

Depression .48***

Neg. Em. Pos. Em.

.41***

.39***

.39***

-.17***

-.15***

-.15***

-.14***

-.14***

PresenceM.

.04***

SearchM. R

2

.23

.28

.30

2

.23

.05

.02

.00

1341.68***

342.17***

153.32***

17.73***

.40***

.38***

.38***

-.09***

-.10***

R Change F Change

.31

Anxiety Neg. Em. PresenceM.

.02*

SearchM. 2

.17

.18

.18

R Change

2

.17

.01

.00

F Change

946.82***

63.39***

4.72*

R

Stress .47***

Neg. Em. PresenceM.

.45***

.43***

.43***

-.08***

-.07***

-.07***

-.05***

-.05***

Pos. Em.

.05***

SearchM. R

2

.22

.22

.23

.23

2

.22

.01

.00

.00

45.63***

22.57***

25.35***

R Change F Change

1268.34***

***p < .001.

Moderation Analyses A series of regression analyses were conducted. Each of them included: (a) the dependent variable, which was one of the emotion, psychological illness or meaning in life variables, (b) the independent variables, which were those that multiple regression analyses above showed to predict the dependent variable (altogether), (c) and the

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interaction/moderator variable, which was one of the three economic crisis variables at a time (crisis’ consequences, fear to make changes in life or unemployment). We then tested if the addition of the interaction term to the existing regression model improves the prediction of the dependent variables. In other words, we tested to see if there is a statistically significant moderation of the economic crisis variables in each predictive relationship between the main variables of the study. As Table 8 indicates, the prediction of experiencing positive emotions by an individual’s levels of depression, anxiety, searching for meaning and presence of meaning is significantly moderated by unemployment (F Change = 5.16, p < .05), the levels of economic crisis’ consequences (F Change = 106.99, p < .001) and fear to make changes in life (F Change = 46.00, p < .001). Testing the direction of this effect, results show that unemployment (β = .83) and high levels of economic crisis effects (β = -.16 and -.16) decrease individual’s experiencing of positive emotions. Table 8 Testing Crisis Variables Moderation Between Predictors (Altogether) and the Emotion Variables CrisisC.

FearC.

Unemp.

.22

.21

.20

Pos. Em. R

2 2

R Change

.02

.01

.00

F Change

106.99***

46.00***

5.16*

-.16

-.16

.83

.27

.26

.25 .00

β Neg. Em. R

2 2

R Change

.02

.01

F Change

138.24***

52.96***

.18

.12

.12

-.11

β *p < .05. ***p < .001.

Moreover, economic crisis consequences (F Change = 138.24, p < .001) and fear to make changes in life (F Change = 52.96, p < .001) moderate the predictive relationship between experiencing negative emotions and individual’s levels of depression, stress and presence of meaning in life (see Table 8). Higher levels of economic crisis effects significantly increase the levels of experiencing negative emotions (β = .12 and .12). In another case (see Table 9), unemployment (F Change = 4.95, p < .05) and individual’s levels of fear to make changes in life (F Change = 6.16, p < .05) significantly moderate the predictive relationship between presence of meaning and levels of experiencing positive and negative emotions, depression and stress. Employment and low levels of fear to make changes in life increase the presence of meaning in an individual’s life (β = .66 and -.05, respectively). It is surprising, though, that practical and psychological economic crisis’ consequences do not moderate the relationships in the predictive model of presence of meaning. In the case of searching for meaning in life, results indicate that the economic crisis variables do not significantly moderate its prediction by experiencing positive emotions and stress.

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Table 9 Testing Crisis Variables Moderation Between Predictors (Altogether) and the Meaning in Life Variables CrisisC.

FearC.

Unemp.

2

.10

.10

.10

2

R Change

.00

.00

.00

F Change

.36

6.16*

4.95*

β

.01

-.05

.66

2

.01

.01

.01

2

.00

.00

.00

.23

.32

2.83

-.01

.02

-.75

PresenceM. R

SearchM. R

R Change F Change β *p < .05.

As Table 10 depicts, each one of the three economic crisis’ effects significantly moderates the prediction of depression by individual’s levels of experiencing negative and positive emotions, presence of meaning and searching for meaning. Unemployment (F Change = 10.54, p < .001, β = -.77), high levels of crisis consequences (F Change = 87.29, p < .001, β = .10) and fear to make changes in life (F Change = 4.55, p < .05, β = .03) enhance the prediction of depression by the emotion and meaning variables increasing the individual’s depression levels. Table 10 Testing Crisis Variables Moderation Between Predictors (Altogether) and the Psychopathology Variables CrisisC.

FearC.

Unemp.

.32

.31

.31

Depression R

2 2

R Change

.01

.00

.00

F Change

87.29***

4.55*

10.54***

.10

.03

-.77

2

.20

.18

.19

2

R Change

.01

.00

.00

F Change

71.68***

5.16*

6.23

.09

.04

-.62

2

.24

.23

.23

R Change

2

.01

.00

.00

F Change

46.36***

3.36

2.78

.07

.03

-.41

Β Anxiety R

Β Stress R

Β *p < .05. **p < .01.***p < .001.

Furthermore, economic crisis consequences (F Change = 71.68, p < .001) and fear to make changes in life (F Change = 5.16, p < .05) are statistically significant moderators of the prediction of anxiety by the levels of experiencing negative emotions, presence of meaning and searching for meaning in life (see Table 10). High levels

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of the above economic crisis effects reinforce the predictive model of anxiety by the other independent variables and significantly increase individual’s anxiety levels (β = .09 and .04, respectively). Results also revealed that the prediction of stress by the levels of experiencing negative and positive emotions, presence and searching for meaning in life depends significantly on the individual’s reported levels of economic crisis’ practical and psychological consequences (F Change = 46.36, p < .001). More specifically, higher crisis consequences increase individual’s stress levels (β = .07) enhancing the power of the stress prediction model.

Discussion Counseling aims not only in decreasing clients’ distress and psychological pain but in increasing their well-being (Steger et al., 2006). Several research studies indicated that the current economic crisis in Greece has serious negative effects on an individual’s psychological health and well-being (Bouras & Likouras, 2011; Deiktakis et al., 2014; Efthimiou et al., 2013; Madianos et al., 2011; Pezirkianidis & Coccosi, 2013). Experiencing positive emotions and having a sense of meaning in life constitute main components of well-being (Seligman, 2011) and can play a fundamental role in the psychotherapeutic and counseling process (Ehrenreich et al., 2007; Fulmer, 2015; Lopez & Snyder, 2011; Steger et al., 2006). However, the relationships among psychological distress, positive emotions and meaning in life have not been examined in the context of the economic crisis, nor does the possible apply of those findings in the counseling process. The present study investigated these research queries. Examining the interrelationships between the experiencing of negative and positive emotions, the presence or the search for meaning in life, the psychological distress and the crisis effects, we found that experiencing positive emotions correlates positively to presence of meaning in life and negatively to experiencing negative emotions, depression, anxiety, stress and economic crisis’ effects. This finding corresponds with the Broaden-and-Build theory assertion and relevant research results, which indicate that experiencing positive emotions broaden thinking, provoke a boost in building psychological resources through the upward spirals of positive emotions and undo the negative effects of experiencing negative emotions (Fredrickson, 2000, 2001; Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998; Fredrickson et al., 2000). These processes cause an increase in presence of meaning in life (Fredrickson, 2000; King et al., 2006) and a decrease in experiencing negative emotions (Fredrickson et al., 2000) and psychological symptoms (Fredrickson et al., 2008). Moreover, the findings of the present study indicate that higher levels of experiencing positive emotions are linked to lower levels of economic crisis consequences and less fear to make changes in life. It seems that the broadening and the resources building processes confront and undo the negative effects of the economic crisis in an individual’s psychological health (Bouras & Likouras, 2011; Efthimiou et al., 2013). The results of the present study revealed that experiencing negative emotions has a positive correlation with depression, anxiety, stress and crisis effects. Those findings are in accordance with theory, which supports that negative emotions provoke downward spirals, which cause self-perpetuating and self-damaging cycles that trigger psychological symptoms. Those downward spirals can be built or reinforced by depression and anxiety too (Garland et al., 2010), a fact that supports the strong correlation between negative emotions and psychological disorders. Also, the results indicated that higher levels of economic crisis consequences and fear to make changes in life are correlated to higher levels of experiencing negative emotions. This finding reveals that economic crisis effects are possibly capable of building downward spirals of negative emotions, a finding which is of high importance for counseling and psychotherapy.

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Furthermore, results indicated that the presence of meaning in life has a negative correlation with experiencing negative emotions, depression, anxiety, stress and economic crisis effects. Those findings possibly reveal that as experiencing positive emotions cause an increase in presence of meaning in life through the broadening that they provoke (Fredrickson, 2000; King et al., 2006), negative emotions are able to trigger a decrease in the sense of meaning in an individual’s life, since they create downward spirals characterized by a narrow and rigid self-focus (Garland et al., 2010). Additionally, research findings agree with these results supporting that individuals, who have a sense of meaning in their lives, report lower levels of negative emotions (Steger & Kashdan, 2007; Steger, Kashdan, et al., 2008), depression and anxiety (Steger, Mann, Michels, & Cooper, 2009) and a lesser need for psychotherapy (Lopez & Snyder, 2011). Also, the above findings, in accordance with other research results, uncover that individuals, who report that economic crisis practical and emotional effects have affected their life significantly, tend not to have a powerful sense of meaning in their life and they report lower levels of life satisfaction (Deiktakis et al., 2014). Counsellors and psychotherapists in Greece should utilize this knowledge and incorporate it in the therapy process. In addition, the results of the present study indicated that searching for meaning in life has been found to correlate positively to experiencing positive emotions and stress, while no significant relationship was found between search for meaning and negative emotions, depression, anxiety, presence of meaning and crisis effects. These findings depict the existence of a different dimension of search for meaning in life and are in contrast to findings of previous studies. According to those findings, searching for meaning in life correlates negatively to well-being and happiness (Park et al., 2010) and positively to psychopathology and negative emotions (Steger, Kashdan, et al., 2008; Steger, Mann, et al., 2009). However, the relationship between searching for meaning, presence of meaning and wellbeing is dynamic and really complex (Steger & Kashdan, 2007), since people could simultaneously have a sense of meaning in their lives and search for meaning (Steger, Kawabata, et al., 2008). Thus, individuals, who search for meaning in life, possibly experience high levels of stress because the searching procedure provokes a dissonance between reality and what a person hopes for and an ambiguity about the way the person perceives the past and present (Steger, Kashdan, et al., 2008). At the same time, they possibly experience positive emotions because this revitalizing process of searching could result in the achievement of having meaning in life (Steger & Kashdan, 2007). Future studies should scrutinize this relationship and explore the possible positive effects of the procedure of searching for meaning in life. Also, the results of the interrelationships’ examination between the main variables of the present study indicate that levels of psychological symptoms positively correlate to economic crisis effects’ levels. This finding underscores the negative impact of economic crisis consequences on mental health (Bouras & Likouras, 2011; Efthimiou et al., 2013; Madianos et al., 2011), since higher levels of crisis effects and fear to make changes in life are linked to higher levels of anxiety, depression (Madianos et al., 2011), “death wishes”, suicidality (Economou et al., 2013; Giotakos et al., 2011) and heroin use (Kentikelenis et al., 2011). Another aim of the present study was to explore possible gender differences on experiencing emotions, meaning in life and psychological distress. The results indicated that women report significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress and experience higher levels of negative emotions than men. These findings are not surprising and are consistent with previous research findings (APA, 2011, 2012; Kinrys & Wygant, 2005; Nolen-Hoeksema, 2001; Sadock & Sadock, 2012; Simon & Nath, 2004). We also found significant gender differences in the effects of the economic crisis and in search for meaning in life. Women appear to search for meaning at a higher degree and to have been affected more strongly than men

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by the crisis. This difference is quite understandable even though previous research suggests that there are no gender differences that concern searching for meaning in life (Steger, Oishi, et al., 2009), since women’s unemployment rate in Greece is significantly higher than men’s (ELSTAT, 2015) and since many young women in Greece have a part-time or an illegal job. Illegal occupation is linked to lower levels of quality of life (Pezirkianidis & Coccosi, 2013). Thus, since the mean age of our women sample is 37.7 years old, which is an extremely productive age, the high rates of unemployment and the inadequate working conditions possibly trigger the procedure of searching for a meaning in their lives. Further research could shed light in the women experience of economic crisis’ effects. Finally, in terms of significant differences between the employed and the unemployed, we found that the unemployed experience: higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress, more negative emotions, lower levels of presence of meaning in life, they are hit harder by the crisis and they are in search for meaning in their lives. The results are not unexpected, since previous studies have identified the detrimental effects of unemployment on psychological health (Bouras & Likouras, 2011), subjective happiness (Manolakou et al., 2014) and quality of life (Pezirkianidis & Coccosi, 2013). However, the above findings also underline that employment play a significant role in individuals’ levels of meaning in life. This findings point out that various interventions should take place in order to assist unemployed people in Greece, since their mental health deteriorates and their psychological resources are decreasing. An additional aim of this study was to examine if emotion, meaning in life and psychological illness variables could predict each other. Regarding the prediction of individual’s experiencing positive emotions, the results showed that lower levels of depression and anxiety, higher levels of presence of meaning and searching for meaning predict high levels of positive emotions. These findings are in a partial accordance to previous research findings, where depression and anxiety symptoms have been found to hinder the boost of the upward spiral of positive emotions (Garland et al., 2010) and high levels of presence of meaning trigger experiencing positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2000, 2001). However, traditionally searching for meaning, possibly because of the lack of meaning it entails, is sometimes linked to the experiencing of low levels of positive emotions (Steger et al., 2006). Yet, searching for meaning is the process which results in the achievement of having meaning in life (Steger & Kashdan, 2007) and this fact could reinforce the prediction of the experiencing of positive emotions. Further research should be conducted so as to unveil which mechanisms underlie this strong relationship. The examination of the prediction of high levels of experiencing negative emotions revealed that lower levels of presence of meaning, higher levels of depression and stress predict higher levels of negative emotions. This finding is in accordance to previous findings, which suggest that depression and anxiety symptoms build and fortify the downward spirals of negative emotions (Garland et al., 2010) and that individuals, who have found a sense of meaning in their lives, report lower levels of experiencing negative emotions (Steger & Kashdan, 2007; Steger, Kashdan, et al., 2008). Another prediction model has been found; lower levels of depression and negative emotions and higher levels of positive emotions and stress predict higher levels of presence of meaning in life. Previous findings partially support this model. Individuals who experience high levels of positive emotions are more receptive to meaning because positive emotions broaden thinking (Fredrickson, 2001; King et al., 2006) and people that report high levels of depressive or anxiety symptoms score low on presence of meaning in life (Steger, Mann, et al., 2009). However, in this model, high stress levels predict high meaning in life levels. Possibly an explanation could be that some people simultaneously feel that their lives are meaningful and search for meaning (Steger, Kawabata, et al., 2008).

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Those people are searching for additional sources of meaning in their lives and, in this context, they maybe feel high levels of stress. Additionally, the results indicated that higher levels of experiencing positive emotions and stress predict higher levels of searching for meaning in life. As it has been aforementioned, this is a finding that calls for further research, since it comes in contrast to previous findings. A reasonable explanation could be that high levels of stress are due to the ambiguity the search process is causing (Steger, Kashdan, et al., 2008) and that positive emotions are owed to the fact that the search could result in the achievement of having meaning in life (Steger & Kashdan, 2007). Furthermore, it has been found that high levels of experiencing negative emotions and of searching for meaning significantly and strongly predict high levels of depression, anxiety and stress. Also, lower levels of experiencing positive emotions and of presence of meaning predict higher levels of depression and stress. Previous results support those findings suggesting that high psychological symptoms levels relate positively to experiencing negative emotions (Garland et al., 2010) and searching for meaning (Steger et al., 2006) and negatively to presence of meaning (Stalikas & Mitskidou, 2011) and the experiencing of positive emotions (Lopez & Snyder, 2011). Moreover, research findings support that increasing positive emotions through an intervention causes an increase in life satisfaction and a reduction in psychological symptoms (Fredrickson et al., 2008). Finally, moderation analyses indicated that practical and emotional crisis’ consequences, fear to make changes in life and unemployment play a significant role in almost every one of the aforementioned predictive relationships. More specifically, results reveal that the effects of the economic crisis moderate and reinforce the prediction of experiencing positive, negative emotions, depression, anxiety, stress and presence of meaning in life. Higher levels of crisis effects are linked to lower levels of presence of meaning and experiencing positive emotions and higher levels of experiencing negative emotions and psychological symptoms. Thus, economic crisis’ practical and emotional effects and unemployment play an overall and vitally significant role in individual’s well-being. These findings support the previous findings, which indicate that economic crisis has hit Greeks’ well-being severely (Eurofound, 2013), triggering a noteworthy increase in psychological illnesses (Bouras & Likouras, 2011; Efthimiou et al., 2013; Madianos et al., 2011). Crucial well-being indices have deteriorated; people experience lower levels of positive emotions and higher levels of negative emotions, becoming vulnerable to the negative effects of downward spirals (Garland et al., 2010); many people lack a sense of meaning in their lives (Deiktakis et al., 2014) and this experience causes lower levels of life satisfaction and higher levels of psychological symptoms (Steger, Mann, et al., 2009). Overall, these findings underline the beneficial role of experiencing positive emotions and having a sense of purpose in life against depression, anxiety and stress, as well as the significant moderating role of the crisis effects in hindering positive emotions and in facilitating psychological illness and loss of meaning in life. Women and unemployed are more vulnerable to those negative effects of the economic crisis. Thus, counsellors, giving emphasis on interventions that increase the experiencing of positive emotions and broadening, assisting clients to manage the experiencing of negative emotions and the negative effects of the economic crisis and providing aid in order to find meaning in life, enhance the counseling process and foster psychological health and well-being. In addition, the incorporation of positive emotions and meaning in life can enrich existing programs aiming in the prevention of psychological illness.

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Conclusions The findings of the present study revealed the important role that economic crisis plays on the levels of experiencing positive emotions, meaning in life and psychological distress. In addition, results depict the way that economic crisis’ effects pervade individual’s psychological health and well-being. These significant findings can be beneficial for the psychotherapeutic and counseling process; they promote the scientific research and have a special meaning and value for the Greek society, which is plagued by the economic crisis at many levels, and yet they are generalizable to any similar socio-economic context.

Funding The authors have no funding to report.

Competing Interests The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Acknowledgments The authors have no support to report.

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