Meaning in Life Among Engineering Graduate Students in Relation to Well-being and Stress

During the Covid-19 pandemic, research graduate students have encountered unprecedented challenges, profoundly affecting both their well-being and academic achievement.Previous research suggests that meaning in life serves as a protective factor to buffer against anxiety and depression, and lead to human flourishing.Generally, the presence of meaning in life is strongly correlated with well-being, while the search for meaning is closely associated with distress.To explore the impact of the pandemic on graduate students in the engineering fields, this study investigated their meaning in life, well-being, and perceived stress levels.The findings revealed that most of the students demonstrated moderate levels of meaning in life, well-being, and perceived stress.Those who possessed more meaning in their lives had higher levels of wellbeing.However, this relationship was less influential for first-generation students compared to their peers, implying that the challenges they faced during the pandemic may have hindered their well-being.International and first-generation graduate students exhibited a higher level of search for meaning, indicating potential cultural influences on their academic journey.Furthermore, female students experienced an increase in well-being as they actively searched for meaning, while male students displayed the opposite trend.These contrasting results indicate that the sources of meaning may hold different value for female and male students.These intriguing findings call for further research to enhance our understanding of graduate students' experiences and facilitate the implementation of programs and services that foster their well-being, thereby enhancing their academic success.