Intrinsic and extrinsic goals as moderators of stress and depressive symptoms in Chinese undergraduate students: A multi-wave longitudinal study

Abstract

BackgroundStudies in western countries have examined the specific vulnerability hypothesis of Dykman’s theory of goal-orientation predispositions to depression through two-time point designs. The purpose of this prospective longitudinal study was to investigate the moderating effects of intrinsic and extrinsic goals on stress and depressive symptoms in Chinese undergraduate students.MethodsA total of 462 undergraduate students [46 % female; mean age, 19.06 (range, 17–22) years] completed self-reported measures assessing intrinsic and extrinsic goals, depressive symptoms, and the occurrence of social and academic hassles. Every 3 months over the subsequent 12 months, the undergraduate students completed measures assessing depressive symptoms and the occurrence of daily hassles.ResultsResults of hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that undergraduate students with low levels of intrinsic goals reported greater depressive symptoms following the occurrence of social and academic hassles than did those with high levels of such goals. However, undergraduate students with high levels of extrinsic goals did not report greater depressive symptoms following the occurrence of social and academic hassles than did those possessing low levels.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that intrinsic goals can protect undergraduate students experiencing high levels of social and academic hassles from depressive symptoms. The study findings provide new insight into the course of depressive symptoms among undergraduate students, and offer psychologist and psychiatrists ways to protect individuals from depressive symptoms by building up intrinsic goals.

Motivational orientation mediates the association between depression and cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress

“…Furthermore our results extend on CVR research by suggesting that it is intrinsic and not extrinsic motivation that is the important factor to consider. Our findings are in keeping with previous research reporting that intrinsic motivation is negatively related to maladaptive outcomes (Baker, 2004), such as burnout (Ryan & Deci, 2000a) and depression (Huang et al., 2016; Ling et al., 2016). Considering that extrinsic motivation is less predictive of depression, our hypothesis was exploratory in nature.…”

“…Extrinsic motivation is associated with poorer academic achievement and lower perceptions of competence (Boggiano, 1998). Research suggests that low intrinsic, but not extrinsic motivation, is associated with higher depressive symptoms (Ling et al., 2016), implying that intrinsic motivation is a likely candidate underlying this association.…”

Association of self‐reported religiosity with the development of major depression in multireligious country Japan

“…Japanese people who had strong extrinsic religiosity may label themselves as very religious, resulting in a positive association with major depression. People with extrinsic orientation reportedly may have more stress due to seeking extrinsic goals, such as fame, attractiveness, and wealth 31 . As a result, extrinsic religiosity was said to be associated with anxiety based on a previous study 32 .…”

Gender differences in factors associated with smartphone addiction: a cross-sectional study among medical college students

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