Do Flexible Goal Adjustment and Acceptance Help Preserve Quality of Life in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis?

Abstract

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. 2 Abstract PurposeAcceptance and flexible goal adjustment are believed to be protective factors in chronic illness whereas tenacious goal pursuit is considered maladaptive. The present study aimed to investigate the role of these factors in quality of life of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MethodsA sample of 117 patients with MS was recruited. They completed questionnaires measuring quality of life (physical functioning, psychological functioning, psychological distress), acceptance, flexible goal adjustment, and tenacious goal pursuit. ResultsAcceptance significantly accounted for variance in all three indexes of quality of life, beyond the effects of demographic and illness characteristics. The role of goal regulation style was less clear. Flexible goal adjustment significantly accounted for psychological wellbeing only. Surprisingly, tenacious goal pursuit predicted better psychological functioning and less psychological distress. No support was found for the hypothesis that acceptance and flexible goal adjustment would moderate the relation between illness severity and quality of life. ConclusionsThe findings suggest the potential importance of acceptance in understanding MS patients' quality of life, although its hypothesized protective function could not be confirmed. Further conceptual work on acceptance and goal regulation style is needed, as well as prospective work investigating their causal status.

Optimism, Positive and Negative Affect, and Goal Adjustment Strategies: Their Relationship to Activity Patterns in Patients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

“…Firstly, the dual process model [ 9 ] differentiates two complementary strategies: the assimilative mode (tenacious goal pursuit), which is directed at maintaining goals by intentional efforts that modify the actual situation in accordance with personal goals, and the accommodative mode (flexible goal adjustment), which is directed at adjusting goals to situational or physical constraints. Several studies in patients with a range of chronic conditions, including chronic pain, have found that the combined use of accommodative and assimilative strategies was associated with well-being [ 10 – 12 ].…”

Couples coping with sensory loss: A dyadic study of the roles of self‐ and perceived partner acceptance

“…Support for the adaptive nature of acceptance is far‐reaching, as acceptance has demonstrated positive effects on quality of life for a number of patient and disability groups (Kratz, Hirsh, Ehde, & Jensen, ; McCracken & Eccleston, ; Van Damme, De Waegeneer, & Debruyne, ). Similar to other health conditions, there is also evidence to suggest that acceptance following the loss of hearing and/or vision can be adaptive for psychological adjustment.…”

The moderating role of flexible goal adjustment in the link between pain and depressive symptoms: findings based on a nationally representative sample of older adults

“…Cross-sectionally, there is evidence showing that pain is associated with depressive symptoms. 13,14 This association is often explained by the fact that increased pain is associated with impaired functioning. This in turn is linked to more depressive symptoms.…”

“…With regard to FGA, a few cross-sectional studies have examined the association between FGA and outcomes such as negative emotions or depressive symptoms. 8,9,13,14,28 One of those cross-sectional studies, for instance, found that FGA was associated with reduced depression in Twente, Netherlands (n = 305). 28 Based on rather small samples in other countries, similar findings were made, for example, by Boerner 14 (n = 107; USA), Van Damme 13 (n = 117; Belgium) and Schmitz 9 (n = 118; Germany).…”