Five-Year Stability Patterns of Meaning in Life Among Survivors and Bereaved Family Members of the Sewol Ferry Disaster

Objective: Frankl (1963) introduced the concept of “meaning in life” (MIL) as essential for individuals’ stability, a view supported by Baumeister and Hippel (2020). This study suggests that MIL restoration follows a dynamic pattern after traumatic events. Method: We conducted a longitudinal study with 135 family members affected by the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster in South Korea, examining changes in MIL over 5 years (2015–2019). Utilizing the repeated-measures actor–partner interdependence model, we assessed the dynamic patterns of searching for MIL (SMIL) and presence of MIL (PMIL) from a dynamical systems perspective. Results: The analysis showed that PMIL and SMIL significantly predict their stability, indicating an attractor state for each type of MIL. Notably, survivor family members exhibited a pattern where SMIL stabilization enhanced PMIL in tandem with stability in PMIL, indicating increased MIL dynamism during active meaning restoration. Conclusions: These findings underscore MIL’s critical role in life stability after an adverse life event for the bereaved and the survivors’ family members. The dynamic interaction between SMIL and PMIL in family members who experienced a traumatic life event reveals more intricate dynamics in the meaning reconstruction process, highlighting MIL’s importance as a potential resilience mechanism against adversities.