The most important life goals of people with and without social anxiety disorder: Focusing on emotional interference and uncovering meaning in life
Open accessAbstract
People with social anxiety disorder (SAD) display maladaptive attitudes towards emotions. In this experience-sampling study, we explored the extent to which people with SAD viewed anxiety and pain as an impediment to pursuing personal strivings and deriving meaning in life. Participants were adults diagnosed with SAD and a control comparison group who completed baseline questionnaires and daily surveys for 14 consecutive days. People with SAD perceived anxiety and pain as interfering with progress towards their strivings to a greater degree than healthy controls. Perception of emotion-related goal interference was inversely associated with daily meaning. This relationship was moderated by diagnostic group such that there was a strong, inverse association with daily meaning in life for people with SAD; for controls, no association was found. Results suggest that negative beliefs about the value of anxiety and pain are pronounced in people with SAD and may impede derivation of meaning in life.
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Goodman and Kashdan found that both anxiety and pain were interfering factors in goal attainment.
“Goodman and Kashdan [29] found that both anxiety and pain were interfering factors in goal attainment”
From Studies of Social Anxiety Using Ambulatory Assessment: Systematic Review (2024) · cites this paper as [29]
The Discussion reports that people with social anxiety disorder perceived anxiety and pain as interfering with progress toward important life goals more than healthy controls did. The claim captures both factors but omits that this was a finding about perceived interference, particularly among people with social anxiety disorder, rather than established interference with goal attainment generally. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredGoodman and Kashdan found an inverse association between daily meaning in life and perceived emotion-related goal interference.
“as well as finding an inverse association between daily meaning in life and perceived emotion-related goal interference.”
From Studies of Social Anxiety Using Ambulatory Assessment: Systematic Review (2024) · cites this paper as [29]
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Flagged first, then by citations
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Goodman, F. R., Daniel, K. E., Eldesouky, L., Brown, B. A., & Kneeland, E. T. (2021) · Journal of Affective Disorders Reports · doi:10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100210 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Self-citationState and Trait Emotion Regulation Diversity in Social Anxiety
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Studies of Social Anxiety Using Ambulatory Assessment: Systematic Review
Fernández-Álvarez, J., Colombo, D., Gómez Penedo, J. M., Pierantonelli, M., Baños, R. M., & Botella, C. (2024) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/46593 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
- Authors
- Goodman, F. R., & Kashdan, T. B.
- Affiliations
- University of South Florida (US)
- George Mason University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Goodman, Fallon R.
- Venue
- The Journal of Positive Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2019-11-11
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 272-281
- ISSN
- 1743-9760 (ISSN-L)
- 1743-9779
- PMC
- PMC8259167
- OpenAlex
- W2982918478
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 69
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 0.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- The Journal of Positive Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- NIMH (R21-MH073937)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Keywords
- social anxiety disorder, meaning in life, life goals, emotional interference, anxiety, pain, personal strivings, everyday experience, ecological momentary assessment
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