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Students' Goal Conflict and its Impact on Well-being: The Role of Study Importance and Study Goal Attainment

Kremer, Marleen (2022) Students' Goal Conflict and its Impact on Well-being: The Role of Study Importance and Study Goal Attainment. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Students are prone to experience goal conflict, as they have to perform in their studies, and at the same time, have to establish a sense of self. Research evidence on goal conflict’s impact on students’ psychological well-being suggests that this may result in psychological well-being, depressive symptoms, or none of the both. These inconclusive findings share a need for a theoretical model. We argue that goal conflict affects students’ goal attainment, which has a downstream effect on their well-being. Therefore, we propose goal attainment as a mechanism wherefore goal conflict influences well-being. In addition, we suggest that goal attainment has this influence on well-being, especially when students consider these goals as personally important. Yet, this actual interplay is hardly addressed. Therefore, this study delved into the question whether the relationship between goal conflict and students’ psychological well-being is mediated by the attainment of their personally important study goals. To support our conceptual model with empirical data, we conducted an online questionnaire among 249 students. We analyzed this cross-sectional data using regression analyses. Our results did not show a moderated mediation effect wherein study goal importance interacts to affect the relation between goal conflict and students’ psychological well-being through study goal attainment. However, the outcomes did show that goal conflict in students was associated with higher levels of negative affect and psychosomatic complaints. Thus, our outcomes indicate that students’ goal conflict indeed impacts their psychological well-being. Furthermore, the theoretical importance of our model, future research directions and practical implications are discussed. Keywords: Goal conflict, well-being, students, goal attainment, goal importance

Item Type: Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name: Toth-Bos, A.
Degree programme: Psychology
Differentiation route: Clinical Neuropsychology (CN) [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited: 20 Jan 2022 10:28
Last Modified: 20 Jan 2022 10:28
URI: http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/69

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