Goal Adjustment and Subjective Well-Being in Adulthood
Longitudinal Results From a Three-Wave Panel Study
Abstract
Abstract: Studies on motivational development in adulthood often use self-report measures to examine the relationship between aspects of goal adjustment (accommodative coping, detachment from goals, goal pursuit), and well-being. Most have focused on how tendencies in general goal adjustment regulate subjective well-being. The present study examined the longitudinal associations between well-being (life satisfaction, positive affect) and goal adjustment and between accommodative coping and goal pursuit. Variables were assessed in a three-wave longitudinal study (intervals of about 1 year) with a sample of N = 305 adults aged 30–78 years. Longitudinal effects were computed with latent growth models. Results showed that increases in well-being predicted increases in goal pursuit and accommodative coping (positive reappraisal/personal growth, acceptance, reorientation). Increases in accommodative coping predicted increases in goal pursuit and goal detachment. The initial level of goal pursuit predicted decreases in accommodative coping, and the initial level of accommodative coping predicted increases in well-being. In sum, the study demonstrated that subjective well-being is a resource for goal pursuit and accommodative coping, but also that an increase in well-being profits from both. The study provided evidence for the growing relationships of goal adjustment facets.
Across the lifespan, striving for goals is a characteristic of the dynamic of the self and human action. Many cross-sectional self-report studies on interindividual differences in goal adjustment and well-being in adulthood have shown that there is a significant correlation between the two and that the negative impact of losses on well-being is dampened through goal adjustment (Brandtstädter & Rothermund, 2002; Greve et al., 2018; Klug & Maier, 2015). Longitudinal research on the extent to which well-being predicts goal adjustment across time is, however, scarce (cf. Haase et al., 2021; Thomsen et al., 2015). In the present study, we first examine the relationships between change in well-being and goal adjustment. Second, we examine the relation between different facets of goal adjustment. The longitudinal associations between accommodative coping, goal pursuit, and goal detachment have seldom been investigated.
The term goal adjustment refers to forms of coping that people undertake when their goals are threatened and successful achievement seems difficult. Changes in the priorities of the hierarchy of objectives (Carver & Scheier, 2016), downward social comparison (Ben-Zur, 2016), or detachment from goals (Brandstätter & Bernecker, 2021; Wrosch et al., 2003) can be functional in that too much effort in solving a problem is avoided. Several models of self- and developmental regulation have argued that the adjustment of goals that can barely be reached is adaptive (Brandtstädter, 2009; Wrosch & Scheier, 2020). The dual-process model of assimilation and accommodation (Brandtstädter, 2009) emphasizes the interplay between two ways of coping with adversities: Assimilative strategies (tenacious goal pursuit, efforts to change the barriers, compensatory activities) are important means to maintain a desired goal, but such efforts can remain ineffective. Accommodative coping (flexible goal adjustment) includes processes such as finding positive meaning in adverse life changes, acceptance, or reorientation, which can neutralize experiences of loss. Wrosch and Scheier (2020) made a similar distinction in their model of goal adjustment. They differentiate between two related but distinct capacities, the capacity to disengage from goals when they have become unattainable and the capacity to engage in other goals under these circumstances.
We use goal adjustment as a general term that includes processes of accommodative coping, goal pursuit, and goal detachment. Goal adjustment is not seen as a complementary process to goal pursuit (see Brandtstädter, 2009), but as an example of a dynamic process of adjusting goals in situations in which the goals are not easily achievable. The present study concentrates on goal adjustments associations with subjective well-being, which is often conceived as a global construct entailing affective and cognitive well-being (Diener, 1984; Luhmann et al., 2012). Based on these two main components, in this study, we examine positive assessments of life and positive affect in the relationships with goal adjustment.
Longitudinal Relationships Between Goal Adjustment and Well-Being
Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that focused on dispositional differences in goal adjustment in adults (Brandtstädter, 2009; Rothermund & Brandtstädter, 2003) have shown that assimilative and accommodative coping are substantially correlated with measures of well-being. The dual-process model of assimilation and accommodation has been used to explain and predict changes in well-being or self-esteem on the basis of these two processes (Brandtstädter, 2009). Although there are arguments and results from research that would make it plausible that well-being could predict assimilative and accommodative coping, this has seldom been the focus of longitudinal studies.
The energizing effect of positive emotions and their value in problem-solving, self-regulation, or coping has been emphasized by several models. According to the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2013), positive emotions broaden the attentional focus and, thus, information processing. The theory posits that a cognitive mindset triggered by positive emotions provides the individual with alternative interpretations of a negative situation and alternative goals, thus facilitating detachment from blocked ones. Furthermore, positive emotions are associated with feelings of competence and, because they broaden peoples’ action repertoire, they are assumed to be important resources in successful problem-solving. Previous research has shown that positive affect and, hence, well-being broaden the attentional focus and facilitate flexible and creative thinking (Fredrickson, 2013). On the other hand, in aversive mood states, the cognitive system tends to generate mood-congruent cognitions (Drace, 2013). Thus, one could expect that a low degree of well-being would predict a lowered accessibility of palliative thoughts in the cognitive system, which could then result in a lower degree of accommodative coping and goal pursuit. Goal adjustments can also be influenced by other factors such as major life events and their evaluation. People with better action resources in difficult life conditions might be more likely to be satisfied and achieve their goals, which might also reduce the need for accommodative coping.
The present study focuses on interindividual differences in general well-being and goal adjustment from a long-term perspective and investigates whether associations between the two exist across time. The few longitudinal studies that have examined the predictive effects of well-being on goal adjustment so far are difficult to compare because they use different measures and refer to different age groups: Two studies with young adults attending university or transitioning from university into work provided evidence that well-being predicted increases in goal reengagement, but not in goal disengagement (Haase et al., 2021). Fredrickson and Joiner (2002) showed that initial positive affect predicted improved, broad-minded coping (thinking of different ways to deal with a problem), and initial broad-minded coping predicted increased positive affect 5 weeks later. A study with adolescents demonstrated that accommodative coping predicted well-being 1 year later. The reverse pathway did not show a significant effect (Thomsen et al., 2015). Investigating age-related change in depressive symptoms in adulthood, Rothermund and Brandtstädter (2003) found that assimilation and accommodation were negatively related to depression within measurement occasions but did not predict changes in depression across an 8-year interval. The predictive effects of depression have not been examined (see also Kelly et al., 2013), however, the decline in depressive symptoms was associated with higher levels of subjective control (Infurna et al., 2018).
To summarize, although some studies have shown that well-being predicts target adjustment, the findings are not consistent. Such a mixed pattern of findings can have many reasons (different age groups, intervals between measurement points, and contexts). Also, the prediction of goal adjustment through well-being was not the central aim of most of the longitudinal studies. The studies also showed that goal adjustment is not a homogenous construct and different dimensions can be used to measure it.
Facets of Goal Adjustment: How Are They Related Across Time?
Many self-report studies have shown when and how facets of goal adjustment are correlated; few longitudinal studies have examined how they are associated over time and possibly influence each other. A meta-analysis (Barlow et al., 2020) revealed that goal disengagement and goal reengagement capacities are correlated positively, but only to a modest degree. The mean correlation was estimated at r = .17. A study that examined the multidimensionality of accommodative coping (Loidl & Leipold, 2019) demonstrated that facets of dispositional accommodative coping (positive reappraisal, lowering of aspirations, downward comparison, reorientation) were more strongly correlated (r’s between .50 and .77) than the correlations with detachment from goals were (r’s between .11 and .32). Brandtstädter and Renner (1990) developed the Tenflex questionnaire, a measure which assesses flexible goal adjustment and tenacious goal pursuit as largely independent dimensions. A study using a short version of the Tenflex dimensions demonstrated that both dimensions are highly intercorrelated (r = .53; Kelly et al., 2013). Martinent and colleagues (2017) provided longitudinal evidence using latent class growth analyses to examine the emerging trajectories of goal pursuit and accommodative coping among an elderly population over 65 years of age. The majority in the sample was characterized by relatively stable and high scores of accommodation.
In most longitudinal studies, the protective effects of goal adjustment processes have been investigated with respect to different criteria of positive development (health, well-being), but not with respect to how coping resources predict one another. We expect the pattern of correlations across time to be different. It has been argued that self-regulative activity and feelings of control are based on self-evaluative standards (Wrosch & Scheier, 2020). Thus, one could expect that an increase in accommodative coping (reappraisal, acceptance, reorientation) would predict an increase in goal pursuit because unattainable goals are being replaced by new ones. On the other hand, it seems plausible that a high level of goal pursuit could predict a decrease in accommodative coping, because adjustment of meaning would not be necessary, given a high degree of action resources.
The Present Research
To summarize, the present study examines whether general well-being predicts (positive changes in) accommodative coping and goal pursuit across time. On the basis of assumptions and results in the context of the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2013), we expect well-being to be a resource that predicts accommodative coping and tenacious goal pursuit in general: Increases in accommodative coping are predicted by increases in well-being (Hypothesis 1, H1). Increases in goal pursuit are predicted by increases in well-being (Hypothesis 2, H2).
We expect a reciprocal relationship between accommodative coping and goal pursuit. Based on the assumption that adjustment of meaning would not be necessary, given a high degree of action resources, we expect that high initial levels of goal pursuit would predict a decrease in accommodative coping (Hypothesis 3, H3). Because unattainable goals can be replaced by new ones through accommodative coping, we expect that increases in accommodative coping would predict increases in goal pursuit (Hypothesis 4, H4). We use three-wave latent growth models which allow us to investigate the associations longitudinally, that is, whether changes in variables can be predicted by intercepts (initial levels) and slopes of predictor variables.
Methods
Participants
Participants were recruited from online platforms for social research in Germany and were financially compensated for participation (ca. €4) after each session. Participation was voluntary. The study had been approved by the appropriate ethics committee. There were three assessment points, approximately 1 year apart. The baseline assessment was in May 2020 (T0; N = 399); the second wave was in June 2021 (T1) and the third was in June 2022 (T2). A total of 333 participants were obtained for the second administration. Participants who did not participate at T1 or who showed outlier values (± 3 SD) or stereotyped item responses were not included in the analyses. At T2, 305 participants took part. The total loss rate of data was 24%.
No significant differences in the main variables or age, gender, and education were found between the participants completing the study and those who did not complete the second or third wave. The final sample consisted of 305 persons, aged 30–78 years (Mage = 54.73, SDage = 13.69). The gender ratio was balanced (49.8% female). Of the participants, 24.1% had a medium level of education with 9 or 10 years of schooling, 10.5% had a high educational level with 12 or more years of education (German Abitur), 33.1% had a degree (university or university of applied sciences), and 31.1% had completed vocational training.
Measures
Well-Being. We examine well-being as a construct entailing components of effect and life satisfaction (Diener, 1984). Affective well-being was assessed with the WHO-5 Well-Being Index (Topp et al., 2015). Participants were asked to rate on a 7-point Likert scale how often each situation occurred within the previous 2 weeks, for example, “I have felt active and vigorous” (1 = at no time, 7 = all of the time). Reliabilities of the scales were good (see Table 1 for Cronbach’s α for all constructs at T0). The stability coefficients (test-retest correlations) ranged between .63 and .71.
Life satisfaction was assessed with the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985). Participants were asked to rate how well each item applied to them in general on a 7-point Likert scale. The stability coefficients were between .73 and .83.
Goal Adjustment. Different aspects of goal adjustment were assessed using the ACCO-5 scale (Loidl & Leipold, 2019), a questionnaire with 28 items that reflect how people cope in general when personal goals or plans can no longer be realized as they had wished. The scale measures five correlated, but distinct facets of dispositional goal adjustment: (1) Positive reappraisal/personal growth (PRG); (2) Lowering of aspirations/acceptance (LAA); (3) Downward comparison (DCO); (4) Reorientation towards other or new goals (REO); and (5) Goal detachment (GD). Participants were instructed as follows: “The following items relate to how people cope with situations, in which desires, goals or plans may not (or no longer) be realized as one wished” and were asked to rate how well each item (“I can take the situation as it is”; “I can see good sides to the situation”) applied to themselves in general on a 7-point Likert scale. Mean scores were calculated for every facet. Stability coefficients ranged between .43 and .71. The scales PRG, LAA, DCO, and REO were highly correlated (see Table 1) and were reduced to two manifest indicators; these two means will be used later in structural equation models as manifest indicators of the latent construct of accommodative coping.
In order to gain a more complete picture of the goal detachment-goal pursuit dimension, we also assessed the tendency to tenaciously pursue one’s goals in the face of obstacles: Goal pursuit (GP) was measured with four items semantically opposed to the four items of the facet GD. The complete items were as follows: “I continue to pursue the goal despite all the obstacles”; “I am very committed to the goal and find it difficult to give it up”; “I fight for the goal”; and “I give my best to somehow achieve the goal”. We expected the items to be part of a continuum. Principal component analysis using the Eigenwert > 1 criterion showed that items of GD and GP loaded on two distinct factors that were significantly negatively correlated. A confirmatory one-factor solution including the GD and GP items showed no acceptable fit, χ2(20) = 389.42; p < .001; the two-factor model’s fit was better, χ2(19) = 34.53; p < .05, and resulted in a significant improvement Δχ2(1) = 354.89; p < .001, hence we considered the two constructs separately in our analyses. The stability coefficients ranged between .38 and .45 for GD and between .53 and .61 for GP. Table E1 in the Electronic Supplementary Material 1 (ESM 1) presents the mean values of the constructs at T0, T1, T2, and the intercorrelations. Analyses of mean levels showed that there were no effects of time on well-being or goal adjustment.
Data Analysis
Descriptive statistics and correlations between study variables at T0 are shown in Table 1. Skewedness and kurtosis values varied between −1 and +1. Because age was significantly associated with some of the central constructs, it was used as a control variable. Gender differences were not found.
Preliminary Analyses
Before examining our hypotheses about the longitudinal associations, we briefly examined the bivariate correlations between the central constructs at baseline T0 (Table 1). As expected from previous studies, affective well-being and satisfaction with life were significantly correlated with goal adjustment. The exception was goal detachment, which showed no association with well-being.
Hypotheses were tested using latent growth models. The models were computed with LISREL 9.30 (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 2016) and all analyses were based on maximum likelihood estimates.
Overview of Structural Modeling
To investigate the temporal effects of well-being on goal adjustment (H1, H2), we used a latent growth model (Little, 2013) with intercepts coded as 1, 1, 1 and slopes coded as 0, 1, 2. To simultaneously examine the latent growth, we regressed the intercepts and slopes of accommodative coping, goal pursuit, and goal detachment on the intercept and slopes of well-being. We created test halves for each time point to estimate the latent constructs. The mean values of the Satisfaction With Life Scale and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index were used as markers of the well-being factor for each time point. We calculated the means of two of the four accommodative coping scales (Positive reappraisal/personal growth, Lowering of aspirations/acceptance, Downward comparison, and Reorientation) in order to create two observed markers of the accommodative coping factor. We computed parcels (test halves) to represent the latent constructs of goal pursuit and goal detachment.
The latent constructs were used to estimate intercepts and slopes. Figure E2 in ESM 1 presents the general model that was estimated. Intercepts and slopes of facets of goal adjustment were allowed to covary. Covariances of errors across the measurement points were set free for parcels with identical items (test halves).
Results
Longitudinal Effects Between Well-Being and Goal Adjustment
The fit of the general model was acceptable: χ2(204) = 412.18, p < .001, NNFI = .95, CFI = .96, RMSEA = .06. Relevant for our main hypotheses on the relationship between well-being and goal adjustment are the paths leading from the slope of well-being to the slopes of goal adjustment (Figure 1A). The slopes of accommodative coping and goal pursuit were predicted by the slope of well-being, and the slope of goal detachment was negatively predicted by well-being. Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported by the slope-slope associations; the effects of the intercept of well-being on goal adjustment were not significant.
Longitudinal Effects Between Accommodative Coping, Goal Pursuit, and Goal Detachment
Hypotheses 3 and 4 refer to the prediction of reciprocity of goal pursuit and accommodative coping. To test H3, we specified a model in which the intercept and slope of goal pursuit served as predictors. The fit of the general model was acceptable (Figure 1B). As expected in H3, significant decreases were found in accommodative coping when goal pursuit was high at T0. On the other hand, the slope of goal pursuit positively predicted the slope of accommodation. Because it is plausible in coping models to ask about the positive effects of goal adaptation, the latent growth model included well-being as outcome variable. An increase in well-being was also predicted by an increase in goal pursuit.
We developed a third model to assess the predictive value of accommodative coping (Figure 1C). As expected in H4, an increase in accommodative coping predicted an increase in goal pursuit. It is interesting to note, however, that the slope of goal detachment was also positively predicted by the slope of accommodative coping. Finally, the intercept and the slope of accommodative coping predicted steeper increases in well-being, which can be expected according to models of developmental regulation.
Additional Analyses
The final model was developed to examine whether the effects of goal pursuit can be replicated with inversed signs when goal detachment is used as the predictor (Figure 1D). The model fit was acceptable. The slope of detachment predicted an increase in accommodative coping, however, no cross-sectional or longitudinal associations with well-being were obtained. Because we found only a few significant effects for goal detachment, compared with those of their counterpart goal pursuit, we decided to examine goal detachment in more detail. Although we had no specific expectations on the nature of goal detachment, except that it would function as the opposite of goal pursuit, we then conducted posthoc analyses (ANOVAS with repeated measurements). Goal pursuit and goal detachment differed significantly in their mean values at T0, F(1, 304) = 49.02; p < .001; η2 = .14, as well at T1 and T2. Participants reached higher levels of goal pursuit than goal detachment; autocorrelations of goal detachment after 1 year were lower than those of all other constructs. Only the internal consistencies were as high as those of the other variables.
We tested the role of age as a possible predictor of changes in well-being and goal adaptation in our main analyses. None of the four slopes were significantly associated with age. For this reason, we have not included age in the figures.
Discussion
The major purpose of the present study was to investigate whether well-being predicts long-term changes in goal adjustment (H1, H2) and how tenacious goal pursuit and accommodative coping are associated over time (H3, H4). The present evidence from a three-wave panel study suggested that an increase in well-being predicts an increase in accommodative coping and goal pursuit. Many studies examine well-being as a function of self-regulatory processes (Greve et al., 2018; Thomsen et al., 2015). The fact that well-being can also be a resource, possibly by providing a dispositional mindset associated with long-term changes in accommodative coping and strategies of action, has so far rarely been considered in longitudinal studies. It is not that models of developmental regulation (Brandtstädter, 2009; Heckhausen et al., 2010) rule out the significance of well-being for the development of goal adjustment, but rather that these models were developed as a theoretical basis to explain changes in well-being during adulthood, not to examine the effects of well-being. One possible interpretation of the present results is that well-being represents a motivational resource: Positive affect and a positive acceptance of one’s own life allow persons to reflect on their blocked life projects more easily and adjust to difficult life situations more flexibly. Additional growth models showed that increases in goal pursuit and accommodative coping (and the intercept of accommodative coping) predicted increases in well-being as well. Thus, the results support the assumption of a mutual developmental relationship between goal adjustment and well-being.
Also, the initial level of goal pursuit predicted decreases in accommodative coping, a negative association that we expected in H3. These findings are plausible when one considers that high levels of goal pursuit could be an indicator of action resources and thus positive reevaluations would be less necessary.
On the other hand, in our study, we have assumed that accommodative coping is associated with higher levels of goal pursuit (H4). A central function of flexible goal adjustment is to prevent resources from being wasted on blocked goals (Brandtstädter, 2009) and to reorient oneself towards more promising goals that could result in new life. The results indicate that an increase in accommodative coping predicted an increase in goal pursuit. This can mean that accommodative coping assists in modifying blocked goals and replacing them with others so that tenacious goal pursuit can be rebuilt. Acceptance and positive reinterpretations can also promote detachment from blocked goals. The results showed, that the rate of increase in accommodative coping predicted the rate of increase in goal detachment.
Interestingly, and in contrast to our expectations, goal pursuit and goal detachment differed not only in their valence but also in the degree to which they were correlated with well-being. Results showed longitudinal associations between well-being and changes in goal pursuit, but none or only marginal ones in goal detachment. Goal pursuit and goal detachment are negatively correlated, but only to a medium degree; although the items were semantically quite similar, our exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory models supported the assumption of two dimensions. Previous studies (Mueller & Kim, 2004) investigating the factor structure of the Tenflex (Brandtstädter & Renner, 1990) emphasized differences between direct-keyed and reverse-keyed items. Similar to the results in Loidl and Leipold (2019), goal detachment failed to show significant correlations with well-being. The mean values of goal pursuit and goal detachment varied. People seemed to prefer to continue to pursue their goals rather than let go of them. The detachment scale might have functioned more as the opposite of the pursuit scale if participants had been asked to think about specific goals.
Limitations
The central constructs here were assessed with self-report questionnaires. Many of these constructs are positively valued so we cannot rule out the possibility that social desirability biased the interplay between subjective well-being and goal adjustment. We examined how people adapt when personal goals or plans can no longer be realized as they wished. Unanswered remains the extent to which specific events (e.g., non-normative events affecting society in general or many people such as the Corona pandemic or the Ukraine war) were involved in people’s assessment of their well-being or hampered their life projects.
Longitudinal studies typically investigate gradual change over time, but goals have a flexible nature. Affective processing consists of activated states of control and counter-regulation such that attention is automatically allocated to information that is opposite in valence to the current motivational state (Rothermund, 2011). In addition, self-report studies presuppose that people recognize their mental dynamics. Although reliabilities attained high levels, observing goal adjustment places demands on the observer; one should keep in mind that adjustments to goals cannot be counted like banknotes. Similar to other mental processes, the phenomenon cannot be reduced to a single unit and instead must be assessed using several units or measurements (reaction times, physiological measures, self-report).
Future Directions
The results of this study could be useful for clinicians in positive psychology. From a developmental point of view, it would be valuable to understand the functions of goal adjustment and well-being in concrete life domains, for example, health, finances, and intellect. Preparation for age-related changes, for instance, is a task that becomes central in midlife and older age (Kornadt et al., 2018). Practical implications of our findings for developmental counseling or intervention studies would be when and how processes of goal adjustment could be induced (through positive mood induction, mindfulness, or meditation training). One productive avenue for future research would be to measure how processes of goal adjustment predict each other across many short intervals. Global measures underestimate the flexibility in the nature of goals. An interval of 1 year has been assumed to be satisfactory to detect meaningful changes in goal adjustment (Haase et al., 2021); longer time intervals, however, will allow investigation of whether the associations remain stable.
In this study, we focused on the relationship between goals and well-being, with well-being as the regulating factor that provides the impulse for goal adjustment. One should interpret the present results with caution because the mediating factors in the interval were not measured. However, the results agree with the interpretation that well-being provides access to blocked goals, that is, the willingness to set new priorities as well as to continue to follow goals, even when they are blocked. Perhaps is one simply more motivated or optimistic. The metaphor of a “hedonic tread-mill” (Brickman & Campbell, 1971), which describes the assumption that any change in an individual’s well-being will only be temporary, should be kept in mind.
Electronic Supplementary Material
The electronic supplementary material is available with the online version of the article at https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001/a000398
We would like to thank Amy Michéle-Malkowsky for their helpful comments and discussions. We acknowledge the financial support by the Universität der Bundeswehr München.
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