Research suggests that purpose and grit help students succeed during college (Hill, Burrow, & Bronk, 2016). Purpose in life is defined as long-term aim that both personally meaningful and involves a desire to contribute to the world (Damon, Menon, & Bronk, 2003). Individuals who have achieved a purpose in life (i.e., have explored and committed to a purpose) have better outcomes compared to their counterparts who either lack commitment or exploration (Blattner Liang, Lund, & Spender, 2013; Burrow, O'Dell, & Hill, 2010).
Using data collected from wave 4 of a longitudinal, mixed methods study, person-based analyses examined the different categories of purpose development in a sample of pre-nursing and baccalaureate nursing students (N =94) from a small, private university in the Southeastern United States. Differences in perceived support, academic outcomes, and psychosocial outcomes as a function of purpose category membership were examined. Following previous work (e.g., Burrow et al., 2010), four distinct clusters of purpose were expected to emerge. We hypothesized that students in the cluster with high levels of search and commitment (i.e., Achieved Purpose) would report the best outcomes.
Methods:
Measures included Steger’s Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger, Frazier, Oishi, & Kaler, 2006) assessing search for and commitment to purpose; student support using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet & Farley, 1988), student psychosocial outcomes using the Short Grit Scale (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009) and academic achievement using GPA. We estimated a hierarchical cluster analyses using Ward’s method and squared Euclidean distance (Hair & Black, 2000) and investigated range of cluster model solutions.
Results:
A three-cluster model solution was the best fit and was confirmed by a k-means cluster analysis. Achieved Purpose (n= 46; high commitment, high search), Foreclosed Purpose (n= 15; high commitment, low search), and Moratorium (n= 23; low commitment, high search) clusters were identified by search and commitment purpose subscale scores. We found no evidence of a Diffusion cluster (low commitment, low search).
An ANOVA examining differences in search and commitment to purpose subscales found significant differences in every post-hoc comparison and provided further evidence for cluster membership. Regarding psychosocial outcomes, ANOVAs also indicated that students in the Moratorium cluster had lower grit scores than their counterparts in the Foreclosed and Achieved cluster. No differences emerged regarding GPA. The Achieved cluster reported significantly higher levels of support from family and friends than their counterparts in Moratorium (p < .05); differences approached but did not attain statistical significance for support from significant others (p < .10). The Foreclosed cluster reported higher levels of support from family and significant others than the Moratorium category (p < .05). No differences were observed between the Foreclosed and Achieved clusters.
Conclusion:
The results of the present study suggest that pre-nursing and nursing students who have committed to a sense of purpose (Foreclosed and Achieved) experience better outcomes compared to their counterparts who have committed to purpose. Contrary to hypotheses, students in the Achieved cluster did not demonstrate better outcomes compared to those in the Foreclosure cluster.