SOURCES OF PERSONAL MEANING FOR OLDER AND YOUNGER AUSTRALIAN AND ISRAELI WOMEN - PROFILES AND COMPARISONS

This descriptive study looks at what 372 Australian and 191 Israeli wo men, aged 18-93, consider to be the most and least important sources o f meaning in their lives. The Sources of Meaning Profile (SOMP), an in strument measuring current meaning, gave rise to two major observation s. First, there are considerable similarities in attributions of meani ng within age-differentiated national samples. Secondly, there are sim ilarities in meaning perceptions between age-matched groups across nat ional samples. Participation in personal relationships was the importa nt source of meaning in all age categories, in Israel and Australia. L eaving a legacy for the next generation, participation in religious ac tivities, and taking part in pleasurable (hedonistic) activities were among the least important sources of meaning cited by both samples. Me aning variables related to the realisation of individual potential (e. g. personal growth, creativity, etc.), were the most differentiating f or the Australian age groups, while variables related to altruism, hum anistic, social and cultural concerns were the most differentiating fo r the Israeli women. Theoretical implications are discussed.