Designing and Examining the Effectiveness of a Package in Genuine Relationships based on the Theory of Existentialism on the Meaning of Life and Loneliness in University Students

Existential psychology, a branch of psychology that emerged under the influence of existentialist philosophers post-world wars, sought to address people’s spiritual dilemmas, including the issues of meaninglessness and loneliness in modern humans. This branch of psychology emphasizes understanding the meaning of one’s life as a pathway to mental health. The absence of meaning in life can lead to feelings of emptiness, disappointment, and pervasive boredom and fatigue. In this context, some findings suggest that the search for meaning significantly contributes to explaining the behavior of teenagers and young adults. Other studies have shown that a lack of meaning can have negative consequences, one of which is a feeling of loneliness, a significant issue in psychological and social development. According to existentialist theory, authenticity in interpersonal relationships is the solution to many communication problems. Authenticity refers to an individual’s willingness to behave in accordance with their genuine feelings, thoughts, and attitudes. The essence of authentic relationships lies in not seeking to change or control the other, but wholeheartedly moving towards the other, leading to the genuine growth of both parties. Given the importance ofauthentic relationships, researchers have identified practical training in existential communication as a promising avenue for progress in this field. Some studies have concluded that training in authentic relationships, considering existential issues, positively impacts personal lives by fostering deeper interpersonal communication skills. Therefore, there was a perceived need to design an educational package on authentic relationships based on existentialist theory and existential issues. A package that, by enhancing the quality of interpersonal relationships, could effectively address feelings of loneliness and the sense of meaning. Consequently, the primary research question is whether teachings derived from he existentialist perspective, emphasizing authentic relationships, can enhance positive outcomes such asthe sense of meaning and reduce feelings of loneliness. In this regard, the current research designed a training package on authentic relationships based on existential theory. After preparing this educational package and implementing it among a group of students, the question arose whether this educational package could effectuate the desired changes.

Research Hypotheses: 

The current research aimed to design an educational package and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching the principles of authentic relationships on the sense of meaning and feelings of loneliness. In line with this goal, the following hypotheses were examined:1. Teaching authentic relationships leads to an increase in students’ sense of meaning. 2. Teaching authentic relationships leads to a decrease in students’ feelings of loneliness.

This research, classified as applied research in terms of purpose and quasi-experimental in terms of implementation, utilized a pre-post-test design with a control group. The study considered authentic relationships training as the independent variable, with the meaning of life and loneliness as dependent variables. The research population comprised all undergraduate students of Shiraz University during the 2021-2022 academic year. Two separate classes were selected via available sampling and randomly assigned as the experimental group (20 participants) and the control group (20 participants). Both groups underwent a pre-test evaluation. Initial instructions on answering the questions were provided to both groups, and their consent was obtained. Following the pre-test, the intervention commenced. The experimental group participated in an authentic relationships training program, consisting of eight 90-minute sessions. Upon completion of the intervention, both the experimental and control groups were evaluated with a post-test, mirroring the pre-test procedure. This study employed MANCOVA to investigate the hypothesis “Evaluating the effectiveness of authentic communication training on the sense of meaning and loneliness among Shiraz University students” and ANCOVA to investigate the hypotheses “Determining the effect of authentic relationship education on the sense of meaning among Shiraz University students” and “Determining the effect of teaching authentic relationships on the feeling of loneliness among Shiraz University students”. Hypotheses were tested using SPSS-24 software.

A comparison of pre-test and post-test scores for both groups revealed that authentic relationships training increased the sense of meaning and decreased feelings of loneliness among students. The results suggest that authentic relationships training can enhance the meaning of life and alleviate feelings of loneliness among university students. Furthermore, it was concluded that the experimental intervention accounted for 52% of the changes in the variance of the meaning of life scores and 19% of the changes in the variance of feelings of loneliness.

In conclusion, authentic relationship training positively influences the enhancement of life’s meaning and the reduction of feelings of loneliness.