Goal Reengagement Research Articles

Exploring preferences for domain-specific goal management in patients with polyarthritis: what to do when an important goal becomes threatened?

Usually priorities in goal management—intended to minimize discrepancies between a given and desired situation—are studied as person characteristics, neglecting possible domain-specific aspects. However, people may make different decisions in different situations depending on the importance of the personal issues at stake. Aim of the present study therefore was to develop arthritis-related vignettes to examine domain-specific goal management and to explore patients’ preferences. Based on interviews and literature, situation-specific hypothetical stories were developed in which the main character encounters a problem with a valued goal due to arthritis. Thirty-one patients (61 % female, mean age 60 years) evaluated the face validity of the newly developed vignettes. Secondly, 262 patients (60 % female, mean age 63 years) were asked to come up with possible solutions for the problems with attaining a goal described in a subset of the vignettes. Goal management strategies within the responses and the preference for the various strategies were identified. The 11 developed vignettes in three domains were found to be face-valid. In 90 % of the responses, goal management strategies were identified (31 % goal maintenance, 29 % goal adjustment, 21 % goal disengagement, and 10 % goal re-engagement). Strategy preference was related to domains. Solutions containing goal disengagement were the least preferred. Using vignettes for measuring domain-specific goal management appears as valuable addition to the existing questionnaires. The vignettes can be used to study how patients with arthritis cope with threatened goals in specific domains from a patient’s perspective. Domain-specific strategy preference emphasizes the importance of a situation-specific instrument.

Goal adjustment ability predicts magnitude of emotional and physiological responses to an unsolvable anagram task

Individuals differ in their ability to disengage from unattainable goals (goal disengagement, GD) and reengage in other activities (goal reengagement, GR). Existing studies examining GD and GR abilities are limited by cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported measures. The present study employed an experimental paradigm using an anagram solving task to examine whether self-reported and behaviorally observed GD and/or GR abilities relate to emotional, heart-rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) reactivity. Results show no significant association between self-reported GD and time to disengage from unsolvable anagrams. However, self-reported GR predicted persistence behavior during unsolvable anagrams. Higher self-reported GR ability and longer behavioral persistence on unsolvable trials related to more positive affect before and during the task. Self-reported GD was associated with higher baseline HR and a tendency towards lower HR reactivity in response to unsolvable anagrams. While findings did not provide criterion-related validity to the GD measure, they do show self-reported GD and GR abilities may be relevant in the emotional and physiological consequences experienced during challenging goal pursuits.

Goal adjustment influence on psychological well-being following advanced breast cancer diagnosis.

A diagnosis of advanced breast cancer (ABC) challenges a woman's ambitions. This longitudinal study explored (1) if goal adjustment disposition influenced psychological adjustment patterns among women with ABC and (2) if dispositional hope and optimism moderate effects of goal adjustment on psychological adjustment. One hundred ninety three out of 225 women with ABC were assessed while they were awaiting/receiving initial chemotherapy, then again at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months post-baseline. Goal disengagement, goal reengagement, optimism, hope, and psychological adjustment (anxiety, depression, and positive affect) were assessed at baseline; psychological adjustment was reassessed at each follow-up. Latent growth curve modeling was used to examine the change of psychological adjustment and test the study objectives. High goal disengagement, low reengagement, and high optimism were associated with lower initial anxiety, while high goal disengagement and optimism predicted a slower rate of change in anxiety. High goal disengagement, reengagement, and optimism were associated with lower initial depression. High goal reengagement, optimism, and hope were associated with initial positive affect scores, while optimism predicted its rate of change. Optimism moderated the effect of goal disengagement on anxiety and depression, whereas hope moderated the effect of goal reengagement on positive affect. Goal disengagement and reengagement are two relatively independent processes influencing psychological well-being. These findings will help clinicians to tailor specific interventions to help women coping with the diagnosis of ABC.

Motivational deficits differentially predict improvement in a randomized trial of self-system therapy for depression.

A randomized trial compared the time course and differential predictors of symptom improvement in 2 treatments for depression. Forty-nine adults (84% female) who were not taking antidepressant medications and met diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder or dysthymia were randomly assigned either to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or self-system therapy (SST), a treatment that targets problems in self-regulation, the ongoing process of evaluating progress toward personal goals. Self-regulatory variables (promotion and prevention focus and goal disengagement and reengagement) were assessed as potential moderators of efficacy. At intake, most participants reported depression in the moderate to severe range and had histories of recurrent episodes and previous treatment attempts. Self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed at each therapy session. Multilevel modeling was used to examine (a) differences in change associated with the treatment conditions and (b) moderation of treatment efficacy by pretreatment measures of self-regulatory deficits. Both treatments were effective and did not show differences in the magnitude or rate of symptom change or in dropout rates, suggesting that CBT and SST were equally effective in improving depression and anxiety. Patients with self-regulatory deficits, however, showed greater improvement in depressive symptoms with SST. Specifically, patients with low promotion focus and low goal reengagement responded better to SST, whereas patients with high prevention focus responded better to CBT. Overall, the results corroborate previous research suggesting that SST is a viable short-term treatment for depression that is particularly effective in helping patients compensate for self-regulatory deficits.

Control Strivings in the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP)

The Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development (MTD) identifies motivational and self-regulatory strategies that people use to meet the challenges they face throughout life. The theory distinguishes control strivings related to goal engagement from those related to goal disengagement and goal reengagement. In the Innovation Sample of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP-IS), these control strivings were surveyed using 12-item scales for key domains of life: work, family, and health. In this report, we first present key concepts and principles of MTD and a brief overview of research using the theory. This provides the backdrop for our discussion of the relevance of control strivings for major thematic areas covered in the SOEP and for the proposed domain-specific assessment of control strivings. Second, we examine the reliability and factor structure of the scales, using data from the SOEP Innovation Sample collected in 2012. In a third and final step, we sketch possible projects that make use of the rich SOEP data so as to examine pivotal questions revolving around the nature of control strivings (changes) across adulthood and old age as well as their antecedents, correlates, and consequences. In line with predictions based on MTD, results revealed mostly moderate to high inter-item correlations for selective primary control, selective secondary control, and compensatory primary control, with all items loading on a single goal engagement factor. Our results further show that disengagement, self-protection and re-engagement are interrelated, but distinguishable strategies for dealing with unattainable goals.

Self-Compassion and Well-Being in Parents of Children with Autism

Parents of children with autism are faced with difficult and unique daily stressors associated with their child’s disorder. The personal characteristics of parents can influence how they approach stressful life events and potentially help them cope with some of the deleterious effects associated with extreme stress. One factor that may be an important coping strategy is self-compassion, which involves being kind to oneself in times of difficulty, recognizing the shared nature of human suffering, and being mindfully aware of negative thoughts and emotions. This study examined the association between self-compassion and well-being in 51 parents of a child with autism using self-report measures. Self-compassion was positively associated with life satisfaction, hope, and goal reengagement and negatively associated with depression and parental stress. Even though child symptom severity is often the strongest predictor of negative adjustment for parents, self-compassion universally predicted parental well-being over and above the effects of child symptom severity. Results suggest that self-compassion may play a significant role in well-being for parents of children with autism. Implications for future research and applications of the construct of self-compassion are discussed.

The role of goal adjustment in symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue in cancer patients receiving psychosocial care: A longitudinal study

Objective: This study examined whether cancer patients reported increases in their goal adjustment capacities while receiving psychosocial care and whether these increases were related to changes in symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue. Goal adjustment was conceptualised as two independent capacities: goal disengagement (i.e. disengage from unattainable goals) and goal reengagement (i.e. reengage into new goals).Design: This naturalistic, longitudinal study focused on 241 cancer patients receiving psychosocial care at one of the seven psycho-oncology institutions in the Netherlands. Data was collected before the start of psychosocial care (T1) and nine months thereafter (T2). Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the research questions.Main Outcome Measures: Goal adjustment, symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue.Results: At group level, patients reported small increases in goal disengagement (d = .22) but no significant change in goal reengagement (d = .09). At an individual level, 34% of cancer patients reported an increase in goal disengagement and 30% reported an increase in goal reengagement. Increases in goal reengagement were significantly associated with decreases in both depressive and anxiety symptoms, but not to changes in fatigue.Conclusion: Findings indicate that particularly improvements in goal reengagement are beneficial for cancer patients’ psychological functioning.

From Failure to Flourishing: The Roles of Acceptance and Goal Reengagement

Two studies were conducted to examine the relationship between a proposed adaptive response to failure and subsequent flourishing. The cognitive/emotional level of the proposed adaptive response to failure, acceptance of negative emotions, is characterized by allowing negative emotions to surface without trying to control them. The behavioral level of response, goal reengagement, is characterized by reengaging with new, intrinsically meaningful goals. Study 1 (N = 50) was based on a community sample (age range 32–90 years) and consisted of semi-structured interviews coded for participants’ response to the biggest job-related failure ever experienced and current psychological flourishing. Study 2 (N = 101), an online study based on a different community sample (age range 18–73 years), further tested the proposed adaptive response to failure by using questionnaires to assess participants’ response to the biggest job-related failure ever experienced and current flourishing. Findings across both studies indicated that responding to failure by accepting negative emotions and reengaging with new, intrinsically meaningful goals was associated with greater subsequent flourishing, including more happiness and fewer depressive symptoms.

AB1155-HPR The Relationship of Goal Management with Fatigue over One Year in Patients with Polyarthritis

BackgroundMany patients with polyarthritis experience severe fatigue. How to cope with severe fatigue in polyarthritis is unclear. For related symptoms as pain, depressive feelings and feelings of anxiety some studies...

Systemic inflammation among breast cancer survivors: the roles of goal disengagement capacities and health-related self-protection

This study examined the associations between breast cancer survivors' capacity to adjust to unattainable goals (through goal disengagement and goal reengagement), health-related self-protection (e.g., positive reappraisals), and low-grade systemic inflammation (i.e., C-reactive protein [CRP]). Self-reports of goal adjustment capacities and health-related self-protection were measured and concentrations of the inflammatory molecule CRP were quantified in a cross-sectional sample of 121 female breast cancer survivors (Mage 55.53, SD = 10.99 years). Results from hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that low levels of goal disengagement capacities predicted higher CRP. Moreover, health-related self-protection buffered the association between failure to disengage from unattainable goals and elevated CRP. These results were independent from potential confounders including age, education, smoking, BMI, cancer stage, and time since diagnosis. The study's findings suggest that goal disengagement capacities and health-related self-protection can work together in predicting systemic inflammation among breast cancer survivors. Failure to disengage from unattainable goals may trigger health-compromising inflammatory processes, unless breast cancer survivors are able to engage in self-protection to manage their health threats.

Goal Adjustment Capacities, Subjective Well-Being, and Physical Health.

This article addresses how individuals can adjust to the experience of unattainable goals and protect their subjective well-being and physical health. We discuss theoretical aspects involved in the self-regulation of unattainable goals and point to the importance of general individual differences in goal disengagement and goal reengagement capacities. In addition, we review the extant literature, suggesting that goal disengagement capacities can reduce psychological distress and ameliorate patterns of biological dysregulation and physical health problems if individuals experience unattainable goals. Goal reengagement capacities, by contrast, are shown to be associated with positive indicators of subjective well-being (e.g., positive affect or purpose in life), but rarely predict psychological distress or physical health outcomes. We finally address several remaining issues that have become apparent in the extant literature and may deserve more attention in future research.

The Effect of Goal Specificity on Consumer Goal Reengagement

Consumers often need to decide if they want to reengage a goal, such as a goal of losing weight, a goal of saving money, or a goal of performing well on a video game. This research finds that consumers are more likely to reengage a goal when they have set a high-low range goal (e.g., lose 2–4 pounds this week) than when they have set a single number goal (e.g., lose 3 pounds this week). This effect is driven by the greater attainability and greater challenge of the high-low range goal, which then leads to a greater feeling of accomplishment. Thus, these findings suggest that in order to keep a consumer motivated over time to continue with an activity or continue using a product, that consumer should first set or be given a high-low range goal.

Satisfaction with social support in older adulthood: The influence of social support changes and goal adjustment capacities.

A 6-year longitudinal study of 180 older adults (M age at baseline = 72.12 years) examined whether goal adjustment capacities (i.e., goal disengagement and goal reengagement) moderate the associations between transient and long-term longitudinal changes in social support partners with social support satisfaction. Results from hierarchical linear models show that high levels of, and increases in, goal disengagement capacities buffered the adverse effect of transient declines in perceptions of social support partners on satisfaction with social support. Moreover, increases in goal disengagement buffered the effect of long-term longitudinal declines in perceived social support on reduced levels of social support satisfaction. However, when participants perceived longitudinal increases in the number of social support partners, low levels of, and declines in, goal reengagement capacities were associated with high levels or increases in social support satisfaction. This pattern of findings suggests that goal disengagement can ameliorate social support satisfaction if older adults perceive a reduction in their social support network. Withdrawing from engagement in new goals, by contrast, may contribute to social support satisfaction if older adults perceive an increase in the number of social support partners.

A prospective study of the importance of life goal characteristics and goal adjustment capacities in longer term psychosocial adjustment to lower limb amputation

Objective: To explore the life goal characteristics and goal adjustment capacities of persons with lower limb amputation on admission to rehabilitation, and to examine their efficacy as predictors of psychosocial outcomes six months post discharge. Design: Prospective, descriptive. Setting: Two specialist inpatient rehabilitation facilities in Ireland. Subjects: A consecutive sample of 64 patients with lower limb amputation. Main measures: On admission to rehabilitation, life goal characteristics (goal importance, goal disturbance) were assessed using the Goal Facilitation Index and goal adjustment capacities (goal disengagement, goal re-engagement) were measured using the Goal Adjustment Scale. The Beck Depression Inventory-II and the Trinity Amputation and Prosthesis Experience Scales-Revised assessed depressive symptomatology and psychosocial adjustment to amputation at six months post discharge. Results: The highest average importance ratings were assigned to goals associated with interpersonal relationships, independence and subjective well-being. Goals related to physical limitations and disruptions in daily activities received the highest hindrance ratings. Goal importance (β = −0.33) and goal disengagement (β = −0.29) on admission significantly predicted depressive symptomatology six months post discharge (P ≤ 0.05). Goal importance (β = 0.32), goal disturbance (β = −0.26), and goal re-engagement (β = −0.21) on admission significantly predicted general adjustment to lower limb amputation at six months post discharge (P ≤ 0.05), while goal importance (β = −0.32) and goal disturbance (β = 0.30) significantly predicted social adjustment (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: Life goal characteristics and goal adjustment capacities on admission to rehabilitation predicted psychosocial outcomes six months post discharge among individuals with lower limb amputation.

The role of goal management for successful adaptation to arthritis

ObjectivePersons with polyarthritis often experience difficulties in attaining personal goals due to disease symptoms such as pain, fatigue and reduced mobility. This study examines the relationship of goal management strategies – goal maintenance, goal adjustment, goal disengagement, goal reengagement – with indicators of adaptation to polyarthritis, namely, depression, anxiety, purpose in life, positive affect, participation, and work participation. Methods305 patients diagnosed with polyarthritis participated in a questionnaire study (62% female, 29% employed, mean age: 62 years). Hierarchical multiple-regression-analyses were conducted to examine the relative importance of the goal management strategies for adaptation. Self-efficacy in relation to goal management was also studied. ResultsFor all adaptation indicators, the goal management strategies added substantial explained variance to the models (R2: .07–.27). Goal maintenance and goal adjustment were significant predictors of adaptation to polyarthritis. Self-efficacy partly mediated the influence of goal management strategies. ConclusionGoal management strategies were found to be important predictors of successful adaptation to polyarthritis. Overall, adjusting goals to personal ability and circumstances and striving for goals proved to be the most beneficial strategies. Practice implicationsDesigning interventions that focus on the effective management of goals may help people to adapt to polyarthritis.

Perfectionism, Goal Adjustment, and Self-Regulation: A Short-term Follow-up Study of Distress and Coping

This study examined socially-prescribed and self-oriented perfectionism (SPP and SOP) and goal adjustment in relation to goal pursuit, depression, and coping. Students (N = 388) completed measures of perfectionism, idiographic goal pursuit, goal adjustment, and depressive symptoms, and a subset (n = 138) completed an online follow-up assessing stress-related depression and coping. SPP, but not SOP, was associated with current depressive symptoms at both time points. SPP was associated with less optimism about goal success, and the interaction between SPP and goal disengagement predicted stress-related depression and maladaptive coping. SOP was associated with greater optimism about the likelihood of goal success and stronger emotional responses to goal success and failure, and SOP interacted with goal reengagement to predict adaptive coping.

Situational and Dispositional Goal Adjustment in the Context of Metastatic Cancer

Striving toward goals is associated with higher levels of subjective well-being; however, many potential roadblocks to goal achievement exist. The current study extends the understanding of goal regulation processes in its examination of the relationships between dispositional and situational goal adjustment to a profound stressor and their associations with psychological adjustment. Women (N = 103; M age = 57.2 years; 82% Caucasian) with metastatic breast cancer completed semistructured interviews and self-report measures at study entry and 3 months later. Measures of dispositional and situational goal reengagement were significantly correlated, but dispositional and situational goal disengagement were unrelated. Greater dispositional and situational goal disengagement abilities were associated with fewer cancer-related intrusive thoughts at Time 1. Dispositional and situational reengagement were positively associated with life satisfaction and sense of purpose and negatively associated with depressive symptoms at Time 1. However, greater initial situational goal disengagement predicted an increase in depressive symptoms over time. Both how an individual typically responds to goal blockage, as well as how an individual is currently responding to a specific blocked goal, appear related to psychological adjustment.

Self-regulation of unattainable goals in suicide attempters: A two year prospective study

Although suicide is a global public health concern with approximately one million people dying by suicide annually, our knowledge of the proximal risk mechanisms is limited. In the present study, we investigated the utility of two proximal mechanisms (goal disengagement and goal reengagement) in the prediction of hospital-treated self-harm repetition in a sample of suicide attempters. Two hundred and thirty-seven patients hospitalised following a suicide attempt completed a range of clinical (depression, anxiety, hopelessness, suicidal ideation) and goal regulation measures (goal reengagement and disengagement) while in hospital. They were followed up two years later to determine whether they had been re-hospitalised with self-harm between baseline and the follow-up. Self-harm hospitalisation in the past 10 years, suicidal ideation and difficulty reengaging in new goals independently predicted self-harm two years later. In addition, among younger people, having difficulty re-engaging in new goals further predicted self-harm re-hospitalisation when disengagement from existing unattainable goals was also low. Conversely, the deleterious impact of low reengagement in older people was elevated when goal disengagement was also high. Only hospital-treated self-harm and suicide were recorded at follow-up, episodes of less medically serious self-harm were not recorded. Suicidal behaviour is usefully conceptualised in terms of goal self-regulation following the experience of unattainable goals. Treatment interventions should target the self-regulation of goals among suicide attempters and clinicians should recognise that different regulation processes need to be addressed at different points across the lifespan.

Unattainable educational goals: Disengagement, reengagement with alternative goals, and consequences for subjective well-being

IntroductionIs it always positive, in terms of well-being, to be highly committed to one's goals? Even if giving up on goals is most often seen as an undesirable response to difficulties, some researchers have begun to demonstrate the benefits of goal disengagement and reengagement with another goal when faced with unattainable goals. ObjectiveThis study aims to test the impact of goal commitment, goal disengagement and goal reengagement on several indicators of well-being in the higher education context, where in first year, a relatively large proportion of students may perceive their initial educational goal as unattainable. MethodSome 357 students with secondary school leaving qualifications were surveyed in a first wave of data collection; 186 of these also participated in a second wave. ResultsResults show that the positive impact of goal commitment on well-being disappears, or even becomes negative, when the goal is perceived as unattainable. Moreover, disengagement from an unattainable goal was found to have beneficial effects on self-mastery. However, this disengagement was not enough to reduce depressive feelings; it must be accompanied by reengagement with an alternative goal. ConclusionThese results are discussed and proposals for future research are put forward.

Goal adjustment, physical and sedentary activity, and well‐being and health among breast cancer survivors

This longitudinal study examined whether goal adjustment capacities (i.e., goal disengagement and goal reengagement) would predict breast cancer survivors' emotional well-being and physical health by facilitating high levels of physical activity and low levels of sedentary activity. Self-reports of goal adjustment capacities were measured among 176 female breast cancer survivors at baseline. Self-reports of physical activity, sedentary activity, daily affect, and daily physical health symptoms (e.g., nausea or pain) were measured at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Goal reengagement predicted high levels of positive affect and low levels of physical symptoms at baseline and increases in positive affect over 3 months. The combination of high goal disengagement and high goal reengagement was associated with particularly large 3-month increases in positive affect. The effects of goal reengagement on baseline affect and physical health were mediated by high baseline levels of physical activity, and the interaction effect on 3-month changes in positive affect was mediated by low baseline levels of sedentary activity. Goal adjustment capacities can exert beneficial effects on breast cancer survivors' well-being and physical health by facilitating adaptive levels of physical and sedentary activity. Integrating goal adjustment processes into clinical practice may be warranted.