Effects of personal goal disturbance on psychological distress

Fiche publication


Date publication

avril 2010

Auteurs

Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Pr SPITZ Elisabeth, Dr MULLER Laurent


Tous les auteurs :
Muller L, Spitz E

Résumé

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, Macs 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. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Référence

Eur Rev Appl Psychol-rev Eur Psychol Appl. 2010 Apr;60(2):105-12