Role Conflict, Meaning In Life, and Leader Resilience: A Mediation Study among Structural Leaders in Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15408/tazkiya.v14i2.53574Keywords:
leader resilience, meaning in life, role conflict, structural leadershipAbstract
Leadership roles in public religious institutions involve competing expectations that may challenge leaders’ psychological resilience. Although meaning in life may help explain how leaders navigate role conflict, the distinct contributions of the presence of meaning and the search for meaning remain unclear. This study examined the relationship between role conflict and resilience among structural leaders in Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs, with Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning tested as separate parallel mediators. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 158 structural leaders working in Islamic public higher education institutions and regional offices. Data were collected using the Role Conflict Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the 10-item Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale. Parallel mediation analysis was conducted using 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Role conflict was positively associated with Presence of Meaning (*β* = .190, *p* = .017), but not with Search for Meaning (*β* = .091, *p* = .258). Presence of Meaning was positively associated with resilience when controlling for role conflict and Search for Meaning (*β* = .316, *p* = .007), whereas Search for Meaning was not (*β* = .031, *p* = .785). The indirect effect through Presence of Meaning was significant (95% CI [.009, .093]), while the indirect effect through Search for Meaning was not (95% CI [−.010, .035]). The direct and total effects of role conflict on resilience were nonsignificant. These findings suggest that the perceived presence of meaning may represent a relevant statistical pathway linking role conflict and leader resilience. However, the cross-sectional design precludes causal conclusions. The findings highlight the importance of distinguishing the presence of meaning from the active search for meaning when examining resilience among public-sector leaders.
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