Development and testing of the relationship model of basic psychological needs on the meaning of life through the mediating roles of the psychological capital and human values

Introduction: People have always been seeking inner peace to satisfy basic psychological needs and find new meaning for their suffering. In this way, protection of the human values has been prioritized with the help of psychological capitals. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the basic psychological needs on the meaning in life through the mediating roles of the psychological capital and human values. Materials and Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive-correlational study consisted of all nurses working in hospitals in Kermanshah (2017) that 500 individuals were selected as the sample using multi-stage cluster sampling method. Deci and Ryan Scale of Psychological Needs (2000), Luthan’s Psychological Capital Questionnaire (2007), Schwarz’s Scale of Human Values (1994) and Steger et al. Meaning in life Questionnaire (2006) were used as the measuring tools. To analyze the data, structural equation modeling was used. Results: The findings indicated that in general, the hypothesized model was fitted with the data, and the direct effects of basic psychological needs, psychological capital, and human values on the meaning in life were significant. Also, psychological capital had a direct and significant effect on human values. In addition, the indirect and significant effects of basic psychological needs on human values and psychological capital on the meaning in life were confirmed (P 0.01). Conclusion: Based on the results, the basic psychological needs, human values and psychological capitals can largely predict the meaning of life in the nurses. Further, by improving these three variables, we can increase the meaning of life in these cases.