Daily goal progress is facilitated by spousal support and promotes psychological, physical, and relational well-being throughout adulthood.

Abstract

In two daily-diary studies, we tested the consequences and precursors of daily goal progress throughout the adult lifespan. Attachment theory posits that exploration—including the pursuit of autonomous goals—promotes well-being across the lifespan and is facilitated by support from close others. For both young-adult newlyweds (Study 1) and married couples in late adulthood (Study 2), daily independent goal progress predicted same-day and next-day improvements in psychological, physical, and relational well-being. Specifically, when participants made more progress on their goals than usual on one day, they reported increases in positive affect, sleep quality, and relationship quality, and decreased physical symptoms, the following day (as well as concurrently). Additionally, spousal support (i.e., availability, encouragement, and noninterference) enabled same-day and next-day goal progress. Mediational analyses showed indirect links between spousal support and well-being through goal progress. Some effects were moderated by attachment orientation in the newlywed sample; individuals with greater insecure attachment benefited most from goal progress, and spousal support enabled goal progress most strongly for individuals with less anxious attachment. Overall, these results support and extend attachment theoretical propositions regarding the importance of the exploration system across the adult lifespan. They contribute to existing literature by demonstrating wide-ranging consequences of successful exploration for well-being and by providing evidence for the importance of both exploration and support for exploration into late adulthood.

Interpersonal mechanisms linking close relationships to health.

“…Although few studies have examined links between positive forms of support and objective health outcomes, two diary studies showed that daily spousal support for goal strivings was associated with greater daily goal progress; and goal progress was associated with daily improvements in physical (sleep quality, somatic symptoms), psychological, and relational well-being (Jakubiak & Feeney, 2016a). More research is needed on the health implications of support received in the context of goal strivings, personal growth, and positive life experiences.…”

Lay theories of willpower

“…For example, limited willpower theorists might have positive social interactions during times of low demand but be more likely to exhibit negative social behaviors when times get tough. Furthermore, dyadic goal pursuit—including the role of social support in goal pursuit (Jakubiak & Feeney, )—is also likely affected by willpower theories, as one person's goal striving impacts their partner's. If a limited theorist has poor self‐regulation during times of stress, their partner may experience negative effects as they try to accommodate the limited theorist.…”

Reducing discrepancies of personal goals in the context of cancer: A longitudinal study on the relation with well‐being, psychological characteristics, and goal progress

“…Therefore, the current study will investigate intrusion, awareness, optimism, and pessimism as determinants of reducing discrepancies between goal importance and goal attainability. Additionally, there has been a growing research interest in the concept of goal progress (e.g., Beattie, Hardy, & Woodman, 2015;Harkin et al, 2016;Hope, Milyavskaya, Holding, & Koestner, 2016;Jakubiak & Feeney, 2016). Goal progress is defined as the perceived extent to which a personal goal is achieved and serves as feedback about how well people are doing (Locke, 1996).…”