Goal disengagement and goal reengagement: Associations with depression, anxiety, and satisfaction with life.

Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, Vol 56(2), Apr 2024, 93-101; doi:10.1037/cbs0000360Goal adjustment is an important mechanism of self-construction. When pursuing goals, people are sometimes confronted with situations in which goals are unreachable and they need to adjust by disengaging from them and reengaging in alternative goals. A growing literature suggests that people’s capacity to adjust when confronted with unattainable goals is associated with subjective well-being. The main purpose of this study was to examine whether goal disengagement, goal reengagement, and their interaction are associated with depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and satisfaction with life (SWLQ). A supplementary purpose was to examine the factorial structure and psychometric properties of a French version of the goal adjustment scale (GAS; Wrosch, Scheier, Miller, et al., 2003). One hundred and seventy-five adult volunteers completed measures of flexible goal adjustment, depression, anxiety, and SWLQ. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable model fit, good internal consistency, and convergent validity for the GAS. Goal disengagement is associated with depression and anxiety symptomatology, whereas reengagement is associated with life satisfaction. The interaction between disengagement and reengagement appeared to be significant in predicting anxiety but not depression and life satisfaction. The two processes of goal adjustm...
Source: Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research