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At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources

PubMed2005

What are disease perceptions and subjective treatment goals of insulin treated diabetic patients?

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing importance of patient self-management, little is known about their own perceptions and treatment goals. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this explorative study was to examine what diabetic patients perceive as most concerning and what their own treatment goals are. METHODS: A 23-item anonymous questionnaire was distributed among type 1 diabetic patients treated with and without an insulin pump and insulin treated type 2 diabetic patients in the outpatient clinic of a University Hospital. 86% of the questionnaires were returned (n = 124). RESULTS: In open-ended questions, patients in all three groups together felt mostly restricted by their loss of freedom (24%), the dietary restrictions (17%) and the need to measure blood glucose (17%). Patients treated with an insulin pump worried more about hypoglycaemia and less about dietary restrictions. In closed-ended questions, patients were mostly concerned about hypoglycaemia and developing complications. However, the main treatment goal of both groups together was long-term good blood glucose control (63%). Further patient goals were the prevention of complications (27%) and the preservation of a good quality of life. Quality of life was a more important goal for type 1 diabetic patients (29%) than for type 2 diabetic patients (0%). Patients thought that blood glucose control was more important for their physicians (main treatment goal for 86%) than for themselves. CONCLUSION: Insulin treated patients with diabetes spontaneously express concerns about their actual quality of life and daily hassles and mention long-term worries after explicit questioning. For their main treatment goals they choose mainly long-term goals. According to the patients, physicians tend to overestimate blood glucose control.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The effects of goal setting on the arithmetic performance of brain-damaged patients.

A goal-setting approach was used to examine the ways in which different goals influence the performance of 69 brain-damaged (BD) patients in an arithmetic task. Patients were equally assigned to two conditions: one in which a specific, high goal was set, and one with a "do your best" goal. Statistical analyses indicated that patients with a specific, high goal performed significantly better than patients with a "do your best" goal. No clinical or neuropsychological variables (e.g., time since onset of illness and memory function) were found to have a moderating influence on the effect of goal setting. These results indicate that even BD patients with cognitive and executive dysfunctions can efficiently self-regulate their behavior after the assignment of a high, specific goal in an easy laboratory task.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1984

The NACNE report: are the dietary goals realistic? Comparisons with the dietary patterns of dietitians.

The dietary intake of 42 dietitians studied in 1977 was compared with recent recommendations for the composition of a healthful diet proposed by a working party of the National Advisory Committee for Nutrition Education (NACNE). Mean daily sucrose intake was 35 g, compared with a present national intake of around 100 g and a proposed goal of 55 g; it is argued that a national goal of 65 g is a more realistic goal. Mean fibre intake was 23 g, compared with a present national intake of 20 g and a proposed goal of 30 g; it is argued that while 30 g is a realistic goal for a national mean intake, it is not realistic for subgroups of the population with below average energy intake, and 26-27 g is suggested as a realistic goal for an adult female population. Fat energy intake was 40 per cent of total energy, compared with a present national average of 38 per cent and 30 per cent as a long-term goal; but if national sucrose and alcohol intakes were as low as the dietitians', national fat energy would be 42 per cent. It is argued that 34 per cent fat energy is a more appropriate long-term goal for the dietitians and similar subgroups of the population; however, it is thought that 36 per cent (or 32 per cent nationally) would be more realistic.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

The psychosocial impact of cancer: exploring relationships between conditional goal setting and depression.

This study explores depression in cancer patients with reference to conditional goal setting (CGS) theory. CGS theory proposes that depressed individuals believe that personal happiness is conditional upon attainment of specific goals (personal CGS). Other individuals may set important goals believing that goal achievement is a necessary prerequisite of social acceptance and approval (social CGS). CGS has been found to contribute to depression in normal populations. 15.2% of the 67 newly diagnosed cancer patients in this study showed clinical levels of depression. A significant relationship was identified between personal CGS, rumination and depression, as predicted in CGS theory. Two months later, 46.7% of patients demonstrated clinical levels of depression. This later experience of depression was significantly related to social CGS. The results suggest CGS involving a misdirected pursuit of happiness is initially associated with depression whereas subsequent experiences of depression are related to a misdirected pursuit of social acceptance. Implications are discussed in terms of understanding the cancer patients' motivations controlling goal setting. It is suggested that successful psychotherapy for depression in cancer patients needs to examine the motivations controlling goal setting in addition to the process of goal pursuit.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Scaling and attainment of goals in family-focused early intervention.

Evaluating the impact of early intervention as a means to prevent or ameliorate developmental disabilities has been a long standing problem and the issue of effectiveness continues to be debated. This study explored the utility of Goal Attainment Scaling as a planning and evaluation tool whereby intervention outcomes for infants and families could be documented. The 23 families in this study were participants in a larger research effort evaluating the implementation of community based, family-focused intervention. An average of 5.9 goals were written for each family, with approximately 60% of goals written for infants and 40% for families. Attainment of goals was evident in a mean T-score of 51.9 for post-test values and in documentation that approximately two-thirds of all goals were attained at least at the expected level. The practical features of Goal Attainment Scaling and the correspondence of goal attainment scores with other measures of change suggest that it may be a valuable approach to complement traditional evaluation strategies.

Child↗

PubMed2002

[Establishing and changing therapeutic goals in psychiatric-psychotherapeutic treatment].

At the onset of psychotherapy, treatment goals are frequently not fully defined. They have to be set during treatment and can be changed in its course. An overview of the current literature on treatment goals from patients' and therapists' perspectives is given. Based on a case report of a patient suffering from panic disorder, the process of setting and changing goals and its influence on therapeutic technique and outcome are described. Finally, a case is made for the importance of "negotiations" between patient and therapist about treatment goals, which helps in building up a constructive therapeutic relationship and a helpful therapeutic process. The point in time of goal-setting, the achievability of treatment goals, and the patient's handling of unattained goals appear to be of particular significance.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Coping with chronic pain: flexible goal adjustment as an interactive buffer against pain-related distress.

In the present study, Brandtstädter's (1992) distinction between assimilation and accommodation as two fundamental means of coping is applied to the field of chronic pain. Assimilative coping involves active attempts (e.g. instrumental activities, self-corrective actions, compensatory measures) to alter unsatisfactory life circumstances and situational constraints in accordance with personal preferences. Conversely, accommodative coping (e.g. downgrading of aspirations, positive reappraisal, self-enhancing comparisons) is directed towards a revision of self-evaluative and personal goal standards in accordance with perceived deficits and losses. Our research is based on the assumption that chronic pain can be described as a major source of threat or impediment to personal goals. When goals are no longer perceived to be attainable through active-assimilative coping efforts, accommodative coping should become increasingly important in dealing with chronic pain. In a study of 120 chronic pain patients, dispositional differences in assimilative (tenacious goal pursuit) and accommodative coping tendencies (flexible goal adjustment), as well as measures of pain-related coping and adjustment (depression, pain-related disability, pain intensity) were assessed. The results suggest that accommodative coping functions as a protective resource by preventing global losses in the psychological functioning of chronic pain patients and maintaining a positive life perspective. Most important, the ability to flexibly adjust personal goals attenuated the negative impact of the pain experience (pain intensity, pain-related disability) on psychological well-being (depression). Furthermore, pain-related coping strategies led to a reduction of disability only when accompanied by a high degree of flexible goal adjustment. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings for coping research and the treatment of chronic pain patients are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

Intersession coping skill practice mediates the relationship between readiness for self-management treatment and goal accomplishment.

Underlying pain self-management treatments is the expectation that patients must adhere to coping skill practice recommendations to obtain treatment benefits. Recently, a model of motivation for pain treatment has proposed that patients' readiness to adopt a self-management approach serves as a predictor of active participation in treatment, and ultimately, of improved outcomes. This study compared the ability of pain readiness to change, as measured by the Pain Stages of Change Questionnaire (PSOCQ), and self-efficacy (SE) ratings, to predict adherence and goal accomplishment in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for chronic pain. Further analyses tested the hypothesis that adherence mediated the relationship between readiness to change and goal accomplishment. Data were collected as part of a larger randomized controlled trial of primary care based CBT. Participants were 78 patients recruited from a VA primary care clinic. At pre-treatment Ss completed the PSOCQ to assess readiness to adopt a self-management approach to chronic pain and an SE measure to quantify certainty of achieving up to five behavioral treatment goals. Criteria were means of aggregated intersession adherence ratings and mean post-treatment goal accomplishment ratings. Pre-treatment PSOCQ variables significantly predicted intersession adherence and goal accomplishment. SE did not significantly predict either criterion. The statistical relationship between pre-treatment PSOCQ and behavioral goal accomplishment was significantly attenuated when intersession adherence was taken into account. These data provide support for a motivational model of pain treatment that asserts adherence to therapist recommendations for coping skill practice mediates readiness to change and self-reported goal attainments.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

The early origins of goal attribution in infancy.

We contrast two positions concerning the initial domain of actions that infants interpret as goal-directed. The 'narrow scope' view holds that goal-attribution in 6- and 9-month-olds is restricted to highly familiar actions (such as grasping). The cue-based approach of the infant's 'teleological stance', however, predicts that if the cues of equifinal variation of action and a salient action effect are present, young infants can attribute goals to a 'wide scope' of entities including unfamiliar human actions and actions of novel objects lacking human features. It is argued that previous failures to show goal-attribution to unfamiliar actions were due to the absence of these cues. We report a modified replication of Woodward (1999) showing that when a salient action-effect is presented, even young infants can attribute a goal to an unfamiliar manual action. This study together with other recent experiments reviewed support the 'wide scope' approach indicating that if the cues of goal-directedness are present even 6-month-olds attribute goals to unfamiliar actions.

Awareness↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Social goals and the valuation of natural capital.

Valuation ultimately refers to the contribution of an item to meeting a specific goal or objective. Conventional economic valuation is based on the goal of allocative efficiency. But other social goals may be equally, if not more, important. For example, the goals of social fairness and ecological sustainability have been identified as being at least of the same level of importance as allocative efficiency. This paper looks at the role of social goals in determining the basis for valuation of natural capital and ecosystem services, and sketches the characteristics of a system of valuation that would give equal weight to all three of the major social goals mentioned above. It also places these goals within a more comprehensive conceptual model of the economy and its relationship to the ecological life support system in which it is embedded.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

PubMed1999

Planning ahead: goal-directed problem solving by 2-year-olds.

On tasks that require overcoming an obstacle along an existing path to a physically present goal, infants and very young children evince planning. In each of 3 experiments, the authors tested 21- and 27-month-olds' ability to construct a path to a mentally re-presented goal. Across experiments, the authors varied the number and type of cues to the solution provided. After exposure to the goal-state configuration of problems, both age groups showed evidence of planning (Experiment 1). Demonstration of the initial step in the solution path in Experiment 2 was not as effective as exposure to the goal state in Experiment 1. Even with specification of a greater proportion of the goal path, goal-state configuration information was particularly effective in facilitating performance (Experiment 3). The results suggest productive generation of solutions to novel problems by young children; planning is facilitated by goal-state configuration information.

Child Behavior↗

PubMed2000

Goals as a mediator of gender differences in high-affiliation dyadic conversations.

The present study examined whether gender differences in affiliative aspects (collaboration and cooperation) of dyadic conversations occur because girls are more oriented than boys toward goals focused on others. Preadolescents (11-13 years old; 51 boys, 53 girls) worked with a same- or an other-gender peer on a 4-week-long creative-writing task at school. Dyadic conversations and goals were assessed twice. High-affiliation conversations and mutual-participation goals were more prevalent in female than in male and mixed-gender dyads. Mutual-participation goals mediated gender differences in high-affiliation conversations. Control and task-performance goals did not differ by dyad gender. In mixed-gender dyads, conversation strategies and goals did not differ by gender. Implications of goals for understanding gender differences and similarities in conversations are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Inferred goals in narratives: evidence from self-paced reading, recall, and eye movements.

Three convergent methodologies were used to investigate the generation and reinstatement of goals not explicitly stated in a text. Readers read paragraphs adapted from J. S. Huitema, S. Dopkins, C. M. Klin, & J. L. Myers's (1993) study, which conveyed a character's goal early in the text. The goal was either stated explicitly or implied. An event was described later in the text that was either consistent or inconsistent with the goal. Line-by-line reading data, recall for the narratives, and eye-movement data were collected. Evidence is presented that readers infer a character's goal online at the time the information is presented, and the inferred goal functions like an explicitly stated goal in online comprehension processes and in the resulting memory representation.

Eye Movements↗

PubMed1999

Children's goals and strategies in response to conflicts within a friendship.

Little is known about the skills required for friendship, as distinct from those required for peer acceptance. The present study examined whether children's goals and strategies in friendship conflict situations are predictive of their friendship adjustment, after accounting for level of peer acceptance. Fourth- and 5th-grade children (N = 696) responded to 30 hypothetical situations in which they were having a conflict with a friend. Results indicated that children's goals were highly related to their strategies and that children's goals and strategies were predictive of their real-life friendship adjustment. Pursuing the goal of revenge toward a friend was the goal or strategy most strongly associated with lacking friends and having poor-quality friendships. Gender differences were also found for each goal and strategy, with girls displaying a more prosocial goal and strategy orientation than boys.

Child↗

PubMed2001

The role of personal work goals in newcomers' job satisfaction and organizational commitment: a longitudinal analysis.

This study examined the importance of 3 characteristics of personal work goals (i.e., commitment, attainability, and progress) in accounting for changes in newcomers' affective job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction and organizational commitment) during the 1st months of employment. Twenty weeks after organizational entry, 81 newcomers provided a list of their personal work goals. Goal attributes and job attitudes were assessed at 3 testing periods covering 8 months. Goal commitment was found to moderate the extent to which differences in the attainability of personal goals at the workplace accounted for changes in job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Goal progress mediated the interactive effect of goal commitment and attainability on newcomers' job attitudes. Findings are discussed with respect to their relevance for proactive approaches to organizational socialization.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

A multiple-goal, multilevel model of feedback effects on the regulation of individual and team performance.

When working as a member of a team, individuals must make decisions concerning the allocation of resources (e.g., effort) toward individual goals and team goals. As a result, individual and team goals, and feedback related to progress toward these goals, should be potent levers for affecting resource allocation decisions. This research develops a multilevel, multiple-goal model of individual and team regulatory processes that affect the allocation of resources across individual and team goals resulting in individual and team performance. On the basis of this model, predictions concerning the impact of individual and team performance feedback are examined empirically to evaluate the model and to understand the influence of feedback on regulatory processes and resource allocation. Two hundred thirty-seven participants were randomly formed into 79 teams of 3 that performed a simulated radar task that required teamwork. Results support the model and the predicted role of feedback in affecting the allocation of resources when individuals strive to accomplish both individual and team goals.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Disentangling achievement orientation and goal setting: effects on self-regulatory processes.

H. Heckhausen and J. Kuhl's (1985) goal typology provided the conceptual foundation for this research, which examined the independent and integrated effects of achievement orientation and goal-setting approaches on trainees' self-regulatory activity. Using a complex computer-based simulation, the authors examined the effects of 3 training design factors--goal frame, goal content, and goal proximity--cutting across these 2 theoretical domains on the nature, focus, and quality of the self-regulatory activities of 524 trainees. Results revealed that all 3 factors had a significant influence on self-regulation, with goal content exhibiting the greatest influence. In line with expectations, congruent learning frame and content compared with congruent performance frame and content was beneficial for trainees' self-regulatory activity, incongruent combinations of goal frame and content were better than congruent performance frames and content, and effects for the incongruent combinations cutting across the domains were asymmetrical. Theoretical extensions for further disentangling these distinct domains and training design implications are discussed.

Achievement↗

PubMed2003

When opportunity knocks: bottom-up priming of goals by means and its effects on self-regulation.

Four studies using general attribute goals or specific task goals revealed that attainment means cognitively activate the goals they are perceived to serve. A range of means replicated this effect including goal-directed activities, specific behavioral strategies, or opportunities, assumed to afford effective goal pursuit. The increased accessibility of a currently pursued goal due to "bottom-up" priming by its attainment means improved task persistence and performance, whereas a similarly increased accessibility of a competing goal impeded task persistence and performance.

Adolescent↗