Purpose in life and coping with knee-replacement surgery

The study reported in this article examined the role of a sense of purpose in life in recovery from total knee-replacement surgery in 59 older people. Participants completed questionnaires two weeks before, four weeks after, and six months after surgery. Regression analyses predicted health at six months from purpose in life, controlling for initial health and age, education, and gender. The results revealed that purpose in life was directly related to better mental health and indirectly related, through active coping, to better physical health. The findings support the efforts of occupational therapists to increase purposeful habits of living.