The Why to Bear Any How: Goal Self-Concordance, Meaning, and Depressive and Anxious Symptomatology

Goal self-concordance is the extent to which an individual’s goals are aligned with their internal values and interests. Past research has suggested that both self-concordance and meaning in life are negatively associated with depressive and anxious symptomatology. Goal self-concordance and meaning in life, however, have not been assessed in conjunction. The paper utilized two separate samples (N = 168 and N = 269). Zero-order and partial correlations suggested that meaning in life judgement accounted for a unique portion of the variance in the association between goal self-concordance and both depressive symptomatology and anxious symptomatology. Further, separate cross-sectional mediation analyses suggested that meaning in life was uniquely and atemporally associated with both depressive and anxious symptomatology in both studies. Additionally, higher levels of goal self-concordance were associated with higher levels of all dimensions of meaning in life, and grit, and lower levels of depressive symptomatology in both studies.