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Hope attenuates the negative impact of general psychological distress on goal progress
Author(s) -
MossPech Sara A.,
Southward Matthew W.,
Cheavens Jennifer S.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.23087
Subject(s) - psychology , distress , psychological distress , clinical psychology , purpose in life , baseline (sea) , psychotherapist , mental health , oceanography , geology
Objective Symptoms of general psychological distress disrupt goal pursuit; however, not everyone is equally impacted by distress when pursuing goals. We tested whether hope, self‐efficacy, and/or grit buffered the impact of symptoms of general psychological distress on longitudinal goal progress. Method Undergraduate students reported on these constructs and, 2 months later, their progress toward five personal goals ( N = 117). Results Although greater levels of baseline psychological distress predicted less goal progress, the impact of psychological distress on goal progress was moderated by hope, β = .20, SE = 0.07, p < .01. More specifically, at higher hope, participants reported similar goal progress regardless of baseline distress symptoms, while at lower hope, baseline distress was negatively associated with goal progress. Conclusion Hope may function as a buffer against the association between general psychological distress and impaired goal progress.