The role of personal goals in depressive reaction to adverse life events: a cross-sectional study (original) (raw)
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How Goals and Beliefs Lead People into and Out of Depression
Review of General Psychology, 2009
There is evidence that beliefs (cognitive vulnerabilities) and goals (to prove self-worth) contribute to depression but little consideration of how they work in tandem. Synthesizing research on beliefs and goals leads us to four propositions: (a) People with cognitive vulnerabilities often adopt self-worth goals (seeking to prove self-worth and to avoid proof of worthlessness). People with the opposite beliefs often adopt learning goals. (b) Stressors trigger depression largely because they lead people with self-worth goals to focus narrowly on goals to avoid proof of worthlessness. The same stressors do not lead people with learning goals to become depressed. (c) People with goals to avoid proof of worthlessness adopt defensive self-handicapping behaviors (e.g., effort withdrawal, rumination) when dealing with stressors, because those behaviors serve their goals. The same stressors lead people with learning goals to adopt constructive, problem-solving strategies. (d) A key to allev...
Effects of personal goal disturbance on psychological distress
Revue Européenne de Psychologie Appliquée/European Review of Applied Psychology, 2010
Numerous theories postulate that an individual's quality of life is linked to personal goal regulation (Diener et al., 1997). More specifically, studies which used idiographic methodologies have shown that the degree of importance given to personal goals, their valence (avoidance or approach) and the level of disruption are all involved in the prevalence of psychological distress (Emmons, 1996; Carver and Scheier, 1998; Maes and Karoly, 2005). In addition, Diener and Fujita (1995) postulate that personal goal disturbance would mediate the effect of a person's resources on his quality of life. The objective of this study is to evaluate the role of personal goal importance, the valence of these goals, and personal goal disturbance on psychological distress using a nomothetic evaluation of personal goals. In addition, the study aims to test the hypothesis that personal goal disturbance mediates the effect of daily hassle on an individual's psychological distress. Three hundred and thirty-two members of the public answered the Daily Hassle Scale (Badoux-Levy and Robin, 2002), the Goal Importance Facilitation Scale (GIFS, Maes et al., 2002), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12, Goldberg, 1972). The statistical analyses revealed that a large number of daily hassles as well as strong personal goal disturbance significantly accounted for high levels of psychological distress and showed a mediating effect of personal goal disturbance on the relationship between daily hassles and psychological distress.
Reduced specificity of personal goals and explanations for goal attainment in major depression
PloS one, 2013
Overgeneralization has been investigated across many domains of cognitive functioning in major depression, including the imagination of future events. However, it is unknown whether this phenomenon extends to representations of personal goals, which are important in structuring long-term behaviour and providing meaning in life. Furthermore, it is not clear whether depressed individuals provide less specific explanations for and against goal attainment. Clinically depressed individuals and controls generated personally important approach and avoidance goals, and then generated explanations why they would and would not achieve these goals. Goals and causal explanations were subsequently coded as either specific or general. Compared to controls, depressed individuals did not generate significantly fewer goals or causal explanations for or against goal attainment. However, compared to controls, depressed individuals generated less specific goals, less specific explanations for approach ...
Goal Fluency, Pessimism and Disengagement in Depression
PLOS ONE, 2016
Despite the development of prominent theoretical models of goal motivation and its importance in daily life, research has rarely examined goal dysregulation processes in clinical depression. Here we aimed to investigate problematic aspects of goal regulation in clinically depressed adults, relative to controls. Depressed participants (n = 42) were recruited from two Improving Access to Psychological Therapy clinics in northwest England. Control participants (n = 51) were recruited from the same region. Participants generated personal approach goals (e.g., improve my marathon time) and avoidance goals (e.g., avoid getting upset over little things) and completed self-report measures of goal attainment likelihood and depressive symptoms. Participants also completed a measure of ease of disengagement from unattainable goals and re-engagement with new goals. Compared to controls, depressed participants reported fewer approach goals (but not more avoidance goals), rated their approach goal (rewarding) outcomes as less likely to happen and avoidance goal (threatening) outcomes as more likely to happen. Depressed participants also reported greater ease of disengagement from unattainable goals and more difficulty re-engaging with new goals than controls. Our findings extend current knowledge of the psychopathology of depression from a goal regulation perspective, suggesting that pessimism around goal pursuit accompanies fewer approach goal pursuits and a general tendency to disengage when difficulties are encountered.
Be careful what you strive for: the significance of motive-goal congruence for depressivity
Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2011
In a sample of 61 psychotherapy outpatients, the current study investigated the association between progress at motive-congruent personal goals and depressivity. In a correlational design, motives were measured with a Picture Story Exercise. Personal goals and goal progress were assessed using a self-report approach. The Beck Depression Inventory was used to determine patients' levels of depressive symptoms. In accordance with Beck's congruency hypothesis, results showed that only motive-congruent goal progress was related to depressivity. Motive-incongruent progress could not account for interindividual differences in depressive symptoms. Implications of the fi ndings are discussed in terms of the aetiology of depression and the defi nition of explicit treatment goals.
Mediterranean Nursing and Midwifery, 2022
It is an irrefutable fact that mankind has had goals in life since the very beginning. The pursuit of goals in life is one of the factors that protect mental health and improve quality of life. However, not only going after a goal in life but also what the actual goal is has an important effect on mental health. Life goals can be classified into two categories: intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Intrinsic goals can include a contribution to society, personal development, interpersonal relationships, and physical health while extrinsic goals can be to become famous and to be physically attractive and wealthy. Intrinsic goals are related with people’s nature, needs, and relationships with their environment whereas extrinsic goals are related with goals that are shaped by the culture they are in, related with recognition, acceptance, and achieving results expected by others. Therefore, these two goal categories do not have the same effect on mental health. The purpose of this review is to investigate literature information concerning the effects of goals in life and their sub-dimensions and the effect of internal-extrinsic goals on mental health.
2011
Despite its theoretical importance, personal goal motivation has rarely been examined in clinical depression. Here we investigate whether clinically depressed persons (n = 23) differ from never-depressed persons (n = 26) on number of freely generated approach and avoidance goals, appraisals of these goals, and reasons why these goals would and would not be achieved. Participants listed approach and avoidance goals separately and generated explanations for why they would (pro) and would not (con) achieve their most important approach and avoidance goals, before rating the importance, likelihood and perceived control of goal outcomes. Counter to hypothesis, depressed persons did not differ from neverdepressed controls on number of approach or avoidance goals, or on the perceived importance of these goals. However, compared to never-depressed controls, depressed individuals gave lower likelihood judgements for desirable approach goal outcomes, tended to give higher likelihood judgements for undesirable to-be-avoided goal outcomes, and gave lower ratings of their control over goal outcomes. Furthermore, although controls generated significantly more pro than con reasons for goal achievement, depressed participants did not.
Positive and negative self-related goals and subjective well-being: A prospective study
Journal of Adult Development - J ADULT DEVELOPMENT, 1997
To examine whether having self-related personal goals, or rather whether positive or negative appraisal of them, is associated with subjective well-being, 311 students were asked to complete the Personal Project Analysis (PPA) and revised Beck Depression Inventory, first at the beginning of their studies, and then 2 years later. After 3 years they were asked about the use of mental health services. Two groups of students were identified: (1) those with positive self-projects and (2) those with negative self-projects. The results showed that both positive and negative self-related projects showed stability across a 2-year period, but only negative ones were prospectively predicted by earlier depressive symptomatology. Although neither positive nor negative projects predicted depressive symptomatology, both predicted the use of mental health services.
Personality and Individual Differences, 2007
The present study focused on: (1) differences in goal disturbance, cognitive coping strategies, and depressive symptoms across different types of stressful event; (2) the relationships among goal disturbance, cognitive coping strategies, and depressive symptoms; and (3) differences across events in the relationships between cognitive coping strategies and depressive symptoms. A sample of 132 college students filled in a written questionnaire. They were asked to indicate their most stressful event in the past 12 months. These events were categorised into four different types of event. Students were also asked to report the amount of goal disturbance and the use of cognitive coping strategies in response to this particular stressful event. In addition, depressive symptoms were measured. Results showed significant differences across events in the use of certain cognitive coping strategies. Regression analyses showed significant relationships between cognitive coping strategies and depressive symptoms. These relationships between cognitive coping strategies and depressive symptoms were rather consistent across the four types of event. Implications for developing interventions that help people to deal with stress and attain their personal goals are discussed.
Cognitive Therapy and Research, 2005
B. M. proposed a goal orientation model of depression in which striving to prove self-worth in goal pursuits conferred depression vulnerability. This study replicated and extended the findings of B. M. Dykman (1998) by comparing goal orientation against 2 personality variables: autonomy and sociotropy. In a series of sessions around an achievement event, college students completed goal orientation, autonomy/sociotropy, and measures of dysphoria and self-esteem. For participants who were dissatisfied with the achievement outcome, a greater validation seeking goal orientation predicted increased dysphoria and decreased self-esteem. No such effects were found for autonomy or sociotropy. These findings provide support for the contention that the goal of validating self-worth confers vulnerability to dysphoria and self-esteem loss.