PhD Ceremony Mw. F. (Franziska) Schutzeichel: Meaningful Connections

On 11 mei 2026 11:00, Mw. F. (Franziska) Schutzeichel will defend their PhD at the University of Groningen.

Meaningful Connections

Feeling that life is meaningful is an important part of mental health. People with eating disorder symptoms often report less meaning in life than people without such symptoms. They also tend to experience more emotional problems, such as depression, stress, and anxiety. This dissertation examined the connections between eating disorder symptoms, emotional problems, and meaning in life using a variety of methods. First, the research showed that less meaning in life was causally linked to feelings of ineffectiveness, such as feeling incapable or lacking control. Feelings of ineffectiveness were in turn linked to eating disorder symptoms, as well as emotional problems. Two studies in this dissertation investigated the effects of a meaning-centered intervention for young women with concerns about their weight and body shape. The goal of this intervention was to help participants strengthen their sense of meaning and purpose in life. The intervention led to increases in meaning in life and decreases in eating disorder symptoms and emotional problems. This dissertation also contains a detailed design for a future study examining how meaning in life and eating disorder symptoms are connected and fluctuate in daily life. Together, the findings of this project indicate that strengthening meaning in life can help improve mental health.

Dissertation: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/ceb18443-eaf6-4c7d-a46e-7a03c48c1555

The ceremony will take place at Academy Building, UG.