Considering the Wellbeing Correlates of Activist Purpose

Past work has suggested a need for a theme of purpose in life surrounding activism, defined as one’s purpose in life concerning the pursuit of social or political change. However, the combination of activism and purpose research yields the potential for conflicting predictions regarding the wellbeing of individuals in this pursuit, given activists often report lower wellbeing while sense of purpose is linked to better psychological wellbeing. The current study (n = 1975; M_age = 49.23) examined the wellbeing correlates of activist purpose commitment, to gain better insights into how activists continue toward their purposeful pursuits. Results demonstrate that activist purpose commitment, as expected, are relatively low in the general public. Of interest, activist purpose levels positively correlate with indicators both of wellbeing and psychological concerns, underscoring the duality of this construct. For instance, individuals with a stronger activist purpose tend to report better resilience and hope, as well as greater depressive and anxiety symptoms. Future work is needed to better understand what factors predict activist purpose development, as well as the consequences that activist purpose has for the individual.