====== Personality (GAS) ======

The goal-oriented personality traits of adult [[start|Lifelines]] participants ([[sections|section]]: [[mental health]]) were assessed in follow-up questionnaire [[1C]] using the [[http://www.midss.org/content/goal-adjustment-scale-gas|Goal Disengagement and Goal Reengagement Scale]] (GAS) ((Wrosch, C., Scheier, M. F., Miller, G. E., Schulz, R., & Carver, C. S. (2003). Adaptive self-regulation of unattainable goals: Goal disengagement, goal reengagement, and subjective well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1494-1508.)).\\
Note that personality traits were also assessed in Lifelines using the [[personality (ASI)|ASI]], the [[personality (NEO)|NEO]], and the [[personality (Type D)|Type D]] instruments.\\
Moreover, various personality traits ([[Aggression (ASR/ABCL)|hostility]], [[Reward sensitivity (SPSRQ)|reward sensitivity]]) were assessed in the context of an an [[additional assessments|additional questionnaire]] on [[ADHQ|ADHD]]. 

===== Background =====

Goal adjustment tendency, as measured by the GAS, has been found to predict mental and physical health in both healthy populations (e.g. students) and clinical populations (e.g. patients with a chronic medical condition). The GAS may be used to explain why people show differences in well-being, despite experiencing similar disease severity or life stressors.

===== Scoring =====

A syntax to score the results of the GAS is available at Lifelines.\\
Respondents are asked how strongly the 10 statements in the GAS applies to them on a 5-point [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Likert_scale|Likert scale]] where 1 = almost never true and 5 = almost always true.\\ 
The 10 items in the GAS are distributed over 2 subscales:
  * Goal disengagement (4 items), which measures the ease with which respondents are able to reduce effort and relinquish commitment toward unattainable goals. Two items were developed for each component of goal disengagement: relinquishment of commitment and reduction of effort. 
  * Goal re-engagement (6 items), which measures the extent to which individuals generally reengage in other new goals if they face constraints on goal pursuits. It contains three two-item sets assessing the tendency to identify new goals, to commit to new goals, and to begin active pursuit of new goals, respectively.
Note: the individual components of goal disengagement and goal re-engagement are hardly ever studied. Studies tend to focus on the two subscales. 

===== Validity =====

The psychometric qualities of the Goal Adjustment Scale have been evaluated in a sample of 115 undergraduate students, a sample of 120 adults from the general population and a sample of 45 parents of children undergoing treatment for cancer (Wrosch et al., 2003).  
In all three samples, findings were consistent with hypotheses which suggests good construct validity. The tendency to disengage from unattainable goals was associated with higher levels of well-being. Furthermore, the tendency to reengage in new goals predicted well-being above and beyond the ease of abandoning unattainable goals. Since the GAS could not be compared to a gold standard, the criterion validity of this instrument could not be examined.

===== Variables =====

| **Questions English**                                                   | **Questions Dutch**                                                               | **Variable**  | **Assessment**  | **Age**  |
| If I have to stop pursuing an important goal in my life, ...            | Als ik een belangrijk doel niet langer meer kan bereiken …                        |               |                 |          |
| ...it's easy for me to reduce my effort towards the goal                | ...is het gemakkelijk voor mij om mijn inspanningen voor dit doel te verminderen  | GAS1          | [[1C]]          | 18+      |
| ...I convince myself that I have other meaningful goals to pursue.      | …overtuig ik mezelf ervan dat ik andere zinvolle doelen heb die ik kan nastreven  | GAS2          | [[1C]]          | 18+      |
| ...I stay committed to the goal for a long time; I can't let it go.     | …blijf ik nog lang toegewijd aan het doel; ik kan het niet loslaten               | GAS3          | [[1C]]          | 18+      |
| ...I start working on other new goals.                                  | …begin ik met het nastreven van andere nieuwe doelen                              | GAS4          | [[1C]]          | 18+      |
| ...I think about other new goals to pursue.                             | …denk ik na over andere nieuwe doelen die ik kan nastreven                        | GAS5          | [[1C]]          | 65+      |
| ...I find it difficult to stop trying to achieve the goal.              | …vind ik het moeilijk om te stoppen met het nastreven van dit doel                | GAS6          | [[1C]]          | 65+      |
| ...I seek other meaningful goals.                                       | …zoek ik andere belangrijke doelen                                                | GAS7          | [[1C]]          | 65+      |
| ...it's easy for me to stop thinking about the goal and let it go.      | …vind ik het gemakkelijk om niet meer aan het doel te denken en het los te laten  | GAS8          | [[1C]]          | 18+      |
| ...I tell myself that I have a number of other new goals to draw upon.  | …bedenk ik me dat ik andere zinvolle doelen heb om na te streven                  | GAS9          | [[1C]]          | 18+      |
| ...I put effort toward other meaningful goals.                          | …stop ik energie in het streven naar andere belangrijke doelen                    | GAS10         | [[1C]]          | 18+      |