Depressive symptoms and goal pursuit: Between-person and reciprocal within-person effects in a multi-wave longitudinal study

Introduction: Depressive symptoms, goal progress, and goal characteristics are interrelated, but the directionality of these relationships is unclear.

Methods: In a 6-wave longitudinal study (N = 431; 2002 total surveys), we examine the bidirectionality of the relationships between depressive symptoms, goal characteristics (commitment, self-efficacy, and perception of other's support), and goal progress for academic and interpersonal goals at 2-week intervals. Separate random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were tested for each goal characteristic across both goals.

Results: At the within-person level, goal progress significantly positively predicted commitment, self-efficacy, and perception of others' support for the goal. Most of the other hypothesized paths were nonsignificant, including paths between depressive symptoms and progress. At the between-person level, all variables were significantly correlated, with some effects significantly larger for the interpersonal than the academic goal.

Discussion: The results suggest that when it comes to depressive symptoms and goal pursuit, general tendencies may be more important than variations over 2-week intervals.