Spirituality Studies 153 Muhammad Japar et al. The identified differences in this study align with previous studies in emotional processing, socialization, and psychosocial response. The Milutinovic et al. (2024) study uses REBT theory, which states that changing irrational beliefs can lead to positive behaviors and empathy. The emotional and spiritual aspects, such as music and relaxation, could impact male and female adolescents in different ways. Liu et al. (2022, 1087668) found that self-perceived social support and meaning in life are positively related to self-control, and this relationship varies by gender. Habe et al. (2023) similarly found that music listening has been associated with personal growth and positive relationships in adolescents, suggesting the potential relevance of emotional components in future intervention designs. Evidence from interventions that incorporate spirituality also support these interpretations. Akartuna et al. (2025, 69) found that spiritually based practices, including yoga based on the Bhagavad Gita, highlighted the importance of culturally relevant spiritual practices by Western European women to manage anxiety and attain existential meaning. Use of spiritually integrated counseling within REBT has also been shown to enhance culturally responsive interventions among practitioners (Japar et al. 2021, 397). The gender differences in OOM scores were statistically significant and large in effect size across all measurement points (mean difference = 3.722, p =.001, 95% CI [1.518, 5.927]; partial η² =.194), confirming H2. The diverging trajectory of OOM scores with male scores increasing from pre-test (M = 16.478) to follow-up (M = 17.174) while female scores declined from pre-test (M = 13.222) to follow-up (M = 12.741) is reflected in the significant Time × Gender interaction (partial η² =.283). This divergence warrants careful investigation in future controlled studies regarding whether other-oriented meaning constructs are expressed and experienced differently across gender lines in this specific cultural and religious context. 5 Conclusion The overall results of this pilot pre-experimental study provide preliminary descriptive evidence of significant and consistent gender differences in meaning in life among Muslim adolescents, observed within the context of an integrated REBT-Islamic music-relaxation intervention. Given the pre-experimental design without a control group, these findings are strictly exploratory and do not constitute evidence of intervention efficacy. The most consistent and statistically robust finding across both meaning dimensions is the presence of significant gender differences, with male participants scoring substantially higher than female participants at all measurement points (SOM: partial η² =.183; OOM: partial η² =.194, both large effects). Importantly, a negative finding was also observed: self-oriented meaning scores declined slightly but consistently across all three time points, underscoring the necessity of replicating this work using randomized controlled designs with adequate statistical power before any conclusions regarding the therapeutic impact of the intervention can be drawn. The significant Time × Gender interaction (partial η² =.283) further suggests that male and female participants followed meaningfully different trajectories across the observation period, a pattern warranting dedicated investigation in future gender-sensitive research. Additionally, the sample size of N = 50 is subcritical for MANOVA, and the absence of a formal a priori power analysis increases the risk of Type II errors. The newly developed 8-item scale, while demonstrating strong internal consistency (α =.889.938) and good test-retest reliability (ICC =.667.790), requires further validation with larger independent samples including convergent and discriminant validity testing before it can be used with confidence in future research. The overall results of this pilot feasibility study suggest that integrating REBT with Islamic music and relaxation exercises is a culturally acceptable and implementable approach for Muslim adolescent counseling. These findings do not constitute evidence of efficacy but provide a sufficient preliminary basis to warrant a future randomized controlled trial with adequate sample size and statistical power. A particularly important psychometric limitation that bears on the interpretation of all findings concerns the discriminant validity of the SOM and OOM subscales. Inter-subscale correlations were uniformly very high across all three measurement points (r >.92), indicating substantial construct overlap between self-oriented and other-oriented meaning as operationalized in the present scale. By conven-
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