In this cross-sectional study among 1502 female singles between the ages of 18 and 50, commitment to the goal of finding a partner was negatively related to satisfaction with life. In line with our expectations, this relationship was fully mediated by ruminating about being and remaining single. The relationship between rumination and lower satisfaction with life was stronger in the older age groups. The findings support the notion that rumination is an important mechanism through which goal commitment may negatively influence well-being, and that reducing one’s level of commitment to the pursuit of stage-specific life goals may be beneficial when reaching a new developmental stage.
Baron, R.M., & Kenny, D.A. ( 1986). The moderator- mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
2.
Beets, G.C.N., Verweij, A., & Bongers, S.W. ( 2007). Geboorte: Wat is de huidige situatie? [Birth: What is the current situation?]. In Volksgezondheid Toekomst Verkenning, Nationaal Kompas Volksgezondheid. Bilthoven : RIVM. http://www.nationaalkompas.nl (accessed 8 December 2008).
3.
Bierman, A., Fazio, E.M., & Milkie, M.A. ( 2006). A multifaceted approach to the mental health advantage of the married: Assessing how explanations vary by outcome measure and unmarried group. Journal of Family Issues, 27, 554-582.
4.
Borkovec, T.D., Ray, W.J., & Stöber, J. (1998). Worry: A cognitive phenomenon intimately linked to affective, physiological, and interpersonal behavioral processes. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 22, 561-576.
5.
Breslin, F.C., & Mustard, C. ( 2003). Factors influencing the impact of unemployment on mental health among young and older adults in a longitudinal, population-based survey . Scandinavian Journal of Work and Environmental Health , 29, 5-14.
6.
Brosschot, J.F., Gerin, W., & Thayer, J.F. ( 2006). The perseverative cognition hypothesis: A review of worry, prolonged stress-related physiological activation, and health. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 60, 113-124.
7.
Brosschot, J.F., van Dijk, E., & Thayer, J.F. ( 2007). Daily worry is related to low heart rate variability during waking and the subsequent nocturnal sleep period. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 63, 39-47.
8.
Cantor, C. ( 1990). From thought to behavior: ‘Having’ and ‘doing’ in the study of personality and cognition. American Psychologist , 45, 735-750.
9.
Carver, C.S., & Scheier, M.F. ( 1990). Origins and functions of positive and negative affect: A control-process view. Psychological Review, 97, 19-35.
10.
DePaulo, B.M., & Morris, W.L. ( 2005). Singles in society and in science. Psychological Inquiry, 16, 57-83.
11.
Diener, E., Emmons, R.A., Larsen, R.J., & Griffin, S. ( 1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75.
12.
Emmons, R.A., & King, L.A. ( 1988). Conflict among personal strivings: Immediate and long-term implications for psychological and physical well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1040-1048.
13.
Erikson, E. ( 1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. Ney York : Norton.
14.
Förster, J., Liberman, N., & Higgins, E.T. ( 2005). Accessibility from active and fulfilled goals . Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 220-239.
15.
Goschke, T., & Kuhl, J. ( 1993). Representation of intention: Persisting activation in memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 19, 1211-1226.
16.
Havighurst, R. ( 1948). Developmental tasks and education, 3rd edn. New York: McKay.
17.
Heckhausen, J., & Schulz, R. ( 1995). A life-span theory of control. Psychological Review, 102, 284-304.
18.
Heckhausen, J., Wrosch, C., & Fleeson, W. ( 2001). Developmental regulation before and after a developmental deadline: The sample case of ‘biological clock’ for childbearing . Psychology and Aging, 16, 400-413.
19.
Koole, S., Smeets, K., van Knippenberg, A., & Dijksterhuis, A. (1999). The cessation of rumination through self-affirmation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 111-125.
20.
Magee, P.L., MacLeod, A.K., Tata, P., & Regan, L. ( 2003). Psychological distress in recurrent miscarriage: The role of prospective thinking and role and goal investment. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 21, 35-47.
21.
Marsh, R.L., Hicks, J.L., & Bink M.L. ( 1998). The activation of completed, incomplete and partially completed intentions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 24, 350-361.
22.
Martin, L.L., & Tesser, A. ( 1996). Some ruminative thoughts. In R. S. Wyer (Ed.), Ruminative thoughts: Advances in social cognition (vol. IX, pp. 1-47). Hillsdale, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
23.
McClelland, D.C. ( 1961). The achieving society. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
24.
McCullough, M.E., Orsulak, P., Brandon, A., & Akers, L. ( 2007). Rumination, fear, and cortisol: An in vivo study of interpersonal transgressions. Health Psychology, 26, 126-132.
25.
McIntosh, W.D., Harlow, T.F., & Martin, L.L. ( 1995). Linkers and nonlinkers: Goal beliefs as a moderator of the effects of everyday hassles on rumination, depression, and physical complaints . Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 25, 1231-1244.
26.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. ( 2000). The role of rumination in depressive disorders and mixed anxiety/depressive symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 109, 504-511.
27.
Nurmi, J.-E. ( 2004). Socialization and self-development: Channeling, selection, adjustment, and reflection. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 85-124). New York: John Wiley.
28.
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. ( 1993). Review of the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Psychological Assessment, 5, 164-172.
29.
Pieper, S., Brosschot, J.F., van der Leeden, R., & Thayer, J.F. ( 2007). Cardiac effects of momentary assessed worry episodes and stressful events. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69, 901-909.
30.
Rothermund, K. ( 2003). Automatic vigilance for task-related information: Perseverance after failure and inhibition after success. Memory & Cognition , 31, 343-352.
31.
Salmela-Aro, K., Aunola, K., & Nurmi, J.-E. ( 2007). Personal goals during emerging adulthood: A 10 year follow up. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22, 690-715.
32.
Settersten, R.A., & Hagestad, G.O. (1996). What’s the latest? Cultural age deadlines for family transitions. The Gerontologist , 36, 178-188.
33.
Watkins, E. ( 2004). Appraisals and strategies associated with rumination and worry. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 679-694.
34.
Watson, D., Clark, L.A., & Tellegen, A. ( 1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063-1070.
35.
Watson, D., & Pennebaker, J.W. (1989). Health complaints, stress, and distress: Exploring the central role of negative affectivity. Psychological Review, 96, 234-254.
36.
Wrosch, C., & Heckhausen, J. (1999). Control processes before and after passing a developmental deadline: Activation and deactivation of intimate relationship goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 415-427.
37.
Wrosch, C., Miller, G.E., Scheier, M.F., & Brun de Pontet, S. (2007). Giving up on unattainable goals: Benefits for health?Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 251-265.
38.
Wrosch, C., Scheier, M.F., Carver, C.S., & Schulz, R. ( 2003a). The importance of goal disengagement in adaptive self-regulation: When giving up is beneficial. Self and Identity , 2, 1-20.
39.
Wrosch, C., Scheier, M.F., Miller, G.E., Schulz, R., & Carver, C.S. ( 2003b). Adaptive self-regulation of unattainable goals: Goal disengagement, goal reengagement, and subjective well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1494-1508.
40.
Zeigarnik, B. ( 1927). Das Behalten erledigter und unerledigter Handlungen [The memory of completed and uncompleted actions]. Psychologische Forschung, 9, 1-85.
