Coping with negative life events in old age: The role of tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment

Bailly, Nathalie; Joulain, Michèle; Hervé, Catherine; Alaphilippe, Daniel

doi:10.1080/13607863.2011.630374

Cited by 41 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Indeed, the developmental change of tenacity and flexibility in aging has demonstrated contrasting results, especially on the flexibility mode. Although most studies have shown lower levels of tenacity with age [4, 8–13], empirical evidence has been inconclusive about age differences in flexibility. Studies have found higher [4, 10, 13, 14] or stable [9, 12, 15] levels of flexibility with greater age.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A body of work shows that goal adjustment predicts high levels of well-being in general and in the face of age-related developmental losses [5, 6]. More precisely, FGA correlates positively with health perception, positive affect, life satisfaction, sense of control, positive self-evaluation, and low depression in old age [8, 12, 21–25]. In addition, FGA has been found to dampen the effects of age on depression [7, 8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Longitudinal Patterns of Stability and Change in Tenacious Goal Pursuit and Flexible Goal Adjustment among Older People over a 9-Year Period

Martinent

Bailly

Ferrand

et al. 2017

BioMed Research International

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Using the dual-process model of assimilative-tenacity (TGP) and accommodative-flexibility (FGA), the study aims to identify trajectories of TGP and FGA over five time points within a 9-year period, explore the relationships between the trajectories of TGP and FGA, and explore if participants from distinct TGP and FGA trajectories differed in indicators of well-being and depression. Latent class growth analysis was used in a five-wave longitudinal design among an older population of 747 participants over 65 years. Results highlight (1) emergence of four trajectories for flexibility (low and increasing, moderate and increasing, moderately high and stable, and high and stable trajectories) and three trajectories for tenacity (low and stable, moderate and stable, and high and decreasing trajectories), (2) that older people belonging to particular trajectories of FGA are not more likely to belong to particular trajectories of TGP, and (3) that participants from the high and decreasing TGP and high or moderately high and stable FGA trajectories were characterized by high score of perceived health, satisfaction with life, and self-esteem and low score of depression moods. These results highlight that the heterogeneity in longitudinal TGP and FGA scores throughout the life span needs to be accounted for in future research.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Patterns of Stability and Change in Tenacious Goal Pursuit and Flexible Goal Adjustment among Older People over a 9-Year Period

Martinent

Bailly

Ferrand

et al. 2017

BioMed Research International

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“…Previous studies have focused more on the general tendency towards goal accommodation (e.g. Bailly et al 2014;Boerner 2004;Dunne et al 2011) rather than goal content. Our recent study suggested that onset of walking difficulty may lead to fewer goals related to exercise and cultural activities in old age (Saajanaho et al 2014a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life resources and personal goals in old age

et al. 2016

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It has been theorized that life resources influence goal engagement. The aim of the present study was to examine whether personal characteristics, and socio-economic, social and health resources are associated with personal goal content in old age. The participants were 824 community-dwelling people aged 75-90 from the LifeSpace Mobility in Old Age project. Personal goals were elicited using a revised version of the Personal Project Analysis in a structured interview. Cross-sectional bi-and multivariate analyses using logistic regression modelling were conducted. The results showed that the most commonly reported goals were health maintenance related. People with better health resources were more likely to report goals related to leisure-time, social and physical activities and less likely to report goals related to recovery of health. Those with poor social resources were at risk for having no personal goals in their lives. The results are in line with theorizing on the influence of life resources on goal setting in old age. Further longitudinal studies are needed on whether resource loss precedes goal modification, and how goal setting strategies influence both mental and physical well-being in old age.

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“…Indeed, FGA has consistently stronger associations than TGP with indicators of subjective well-being among individuals with chronic illness and disability (Boerner, 2004;van Lankveld et al, 2011). The accommodative mode has also been found to buffer against the negative emotional impact of potentially deleterious factors such as increasing age (Rothermund & Brandtstädter, 2003), negative life events (Bailly, Joulain, Hervé, & Alaphilippe, 2012), chronic pain (Kranz et al, 2010;Schmitz et al, 1996), and functional impairment, particularly among younger individuals (Boerner, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Goal pursuit, goal adjustment, and affective well‐being following lower limb amputation

Coffey

Desmond

Ryall

2013

British J Health Psychol

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Objectives. This study examined the relationships between tenacious goal pursuit (TGP), flexible goal adjustment (FGA), and affective well-being in a sample of individuals with lower limb amputations.Design. Cross-sectional, quantitative.Methods. Ninety-eight patients recently admitted to a primary prosthetic rehabilitation programme completed measures of TGP, FGA, positive affect, and negative affect.Results. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that TGP and FGA accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in both positive and negative affect, controlling for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. TGP was significantly positively associated with positive affect, while FGA was significantly negatively associated with negative affect.Moderated regression analyses indicated that the beneficial effect of FGA on negative affect was strongest at high levels of amputation-related pain intensity, and low levels of TGP.Discussion. TGP and FGA appear to influence subjective well-being in different ways, with TGP promoting the experience of positive affect and FGA buffering against negative affect.TGP and FGA may prove useful in identifying individuals at risk for poor affective outcomes following lower limb amputation, and represent important targets for intervention in this patient group.3

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Coping with negative life events in old age: The role of tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment

Abstract: Our findings support the importance of both modes of coping for the mental health of older adults. In particular, the ability to adjust goals was shown to be critical as a way of preventing the development of depressive symptoms following negative life events.

Cited by 41 publications

References 29 publications

Longitudinal Patterns of Stability and Change in Tenacious Goal Pursuit and Flexible Goal Adjustment among Older People over a 9-Year Period

Longitudinal Patterns of Stability and Change in Tenacious Goal Pursuit and Flexible Goal Adjustment among Older People over a 9-Year Period

Life resources and personal goals in old age

Goal pursuit, goal adjustment, and affective well‐being following lower limb amputation

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