Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Grounded in Albert Camus's (1955) writings, the authors developed and evaluated the four-item Existential Absurdism Scale (EAS). Using two samples (n₁ = 956 college students; n₂ = 346 patients with chronic illness; total N = 1,302), exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a single-factor structure. The EAS demonstrated construct validity and acceptable reliability. As expected, it correlated positively with existential meaninglessness concern and negatively with meaning judgment. The EAS also positively correlated with suicide ideation and uniquely predicted suicide ideation after controlling for existential meaninglessness and meaning judgment. Supplemental model-based analyses further showed an indirect positive association with suicide ideation via meaninglessness concern. Together, these findings offer preliminary empirical support for Camus's (1955) theorizing on the absurd and identify future directions for research on existential absurdism.

Keywords

scale development Albert Camus suicide meaning the myth of Sisyphus

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Becker

(2023). Suicidality: An existential phenomenon. The Humanistic Psychologist, 51(4), 353–360. https://doi.org/10.1037/hum0000300

Boateng

G. O.

Neilands

T. B.

Frongillo

E. A.

Melgar-Quiñonez

H. R.

Young

S. L.

(2018). Best practices for developing and validating scales for health, social, and behavioral research: A primer. Frontiers in Public Health, 6, 149. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00149

Boston

Bruce

Schreiber

(2011). Existential suffering in the palliative care setting: An integrated literature review. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 41(3), 604–618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.05.010

Brown

M. E.

Alliegro

M. C.

Prince

M. A.

(2023). College students’ experiences of freedom, isolation, meaninglessness, and death: A qualitative examination. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678231210153

Camus

(1955). The myth of Sisyphus and other essays. Vintage Books.

Carpenter

(2018). Ten steps in scale development and reporting: A guide for researchers. Communication Methods and Measures, 12(1), 25–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2017.1396583

Cohen

(2013). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Academic press.

DeLancey

(2021). Camus’s absurd and the argument against suicide. Philosophia, 49(5), 1953–1971. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-021-00333-7

Deng

Wong

Y. J.

P. F. J.

McCullough

K. M.

(2022). Dialectical coping and well-being among Chinese college students: The mediating role of resilience. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 35(2), 363–380. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2020.1783641

10.

Flynn

(2009). Existentialism. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.

11.

Forsythe

Mongrain

(2023). The existential nihilism scale (ENS): Theory, development, and psychometric evaluation. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 45(3), 865–883. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-023-10052-w

12.

Wang

(2023). Existential meaninglessness as a predictor of suicidal ideation and loneliness during COVID-19. Personality and Individual Differences, 214, 112346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112346

13.

George

L. S.

Park

C. L.

(2016). Meaning in life as comprehension, purpose, and mattering: Toward integration and new research questions. Review of General Psychology, 20(3), 205–220. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000077

14.

Hayes

A. F.

(2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Press.

15.

Hayton

J. C.

Allen

D. G.

Scarpello

(2004). Factor retention decisions in exploratory factor analysis: A tutorial on parallel analysis. Organizational Research Methods, 7(2), 191–205. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428104263675

16.

Henseler

Ringle

C. M.

Sarstedt

(2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8

17.

Kunzendorf

R. G.

Doherty Jr

K. R.

Visconti

T. P.

Giacalone

C. M.

Vangapalli

R. R.

(2016). Existential authenticity: Exploratory factor analyses. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 35(4), 413–425. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276236616636214

18.

Kunzendorf

R. G.

Moran

Gray

(1995). Personality traits and reality-testing abilities, controlling for vividness of imagery. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 15, 113–131. https://doi.org/10.2190/B76E-MJ9E-07AV-KAKK

19.

P. F. J.

(2025a). Subjective social status, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation in US college students: A cross-sectional examination on race and gender. Journal of American College Health, 73(5), 1973–1982. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2024.2446440

20.

P. F. J.

(2025b). Testing the associations among subjective social status, depressive symptoms, and suicide ideation in U.S. College students: Single and serial mediation models. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 45(3), 339–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/02762366251374142

21.

P. F. J.

Chan

C. K.

Xiao

Y. J.

O’Donnell

(2024). A further comparison between meaning and purpose: Examining factor structures, partial correlational, unique, and indirect associations with mental health outcomes. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 37(4), 673–694. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2023.2292208

22.

P. F. J.

Chow

(2025). Has human progress stagnated in recent decades? Evaluating Seligman’s (2021) model of agency and its correlates using the MIDUS three-wave longitudinal study. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 20(1), 15–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2024.2314288

23.

P. F. J.

Sun

R. W.

Wong

Y. J.

Leung

M. M.

Chan

C. K.

(2026). Dialectical coping and mental health outcomes among Hong Kong Chinese: The mediating role of perceived stress. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2026.2632212

24.

P. F. J.

Wong

Y. J.

(2024). Beliefs in free will versus determinism: Search for meaning mediates the life scheme–depressive symptom link. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 64(5), 940–953. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167820933719

25.

P. F. J.

Wong

Y. J.

Chao

R. C. L.

(2019). Happiness and meaning in life: Unique, differential, and indirect associations with mental health. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 32(3–4), 396–414. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2019.1604493

26.

P. F. J.

Wong

Y. J.

McCullough

K. M.

Jin

Wang

C. D.

(2022). Existential meaninglessness scale: Scale development and psychometric properties. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 66(1), 235–269. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678211072450

27.

Martikainen

S. J.

Kudrna

Dolan

(2022). Moments of meaningfulness and meaninglessness: A qualitative inquiry into affective eudaimonia at work. Group & Organization Management, 47(6), 1135–1180. https://doi.org/10.1177/10596011211047324

28.

O’Connor

B. P.

(2000). SPSS And SAS programs for determining the number of components using parallel analysis and velicer’s MAP test. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 32(3), 396–402. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200807

29.

O’Dwyer

(2012). Camus’s challenge: The question of suicide. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 52(2), 165–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167811402999

30.

Roberts

Lamont

(2014). Suicide: An existentialist reconceptualization. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 21(10), 873–878. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12155

31.

Rudd

M. D.

(1989). The prevalence of suicidal ideation among college students. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 19(2), 173–183. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-278X.1989.tb01031.x

32.

Schnell

(2009). The sources of meaning and meaning in life questionnaire (SoMe): Relations to demographics and well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6), 483–499. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760903271074

33.

Shaw

(1985). Absurdity and suicide: A reexamination. Philosophy Research Archives, 11, 209–223. https://doi.org/10.5840/pra19851112

34.

Tabachnick

B. G.

Fidell

L. S.

(2001). Principal components and factor analysis. Allyn & Bacon.

35.

Valdivia

D. S.

P. F. J.

(2022). Psychometric properties and internal validity of the multidimensional existential meaning scale. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 55(3), 166–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.2021.1998779

36.

Weems

C. F.

Costa

N. M.

Dehon

Berman

S. L.

(2004). Paul Tillich's theory of existential anxiety: A preliminary conceptual and empirical examination. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 17(4), 383–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615800412331318616

37.

Weston

Gore Jr

P. A.

(2006). A brief guide to structural equation modeling. The Counseling Psychologist, 34(5), 719–751. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000006286345

38.

Wong

P. T.

(1998). Implicit theories of meaningful life and the development of the personal meaning profile. In Wong

P. T.

Fry

P. S.

(Eds.), The human quest for meaning: A handbook of psychological research and clinical applications (pp. 111–140). Lawrence Erlbaum.

39.

Worthington

R. L.

Whittaker

T. A.

(2006). Scale development research: A content analysis and recommendations for best practices. The Counseling Psychologist, 34(6), 806–838. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000006288127

40.

Yalom

(1980). Existential psychotherapy. Basic Books.

Life is a cruel joke! The Development and Evaluation of the Existential Absurdism Scale

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References