Women's pursuit of personal goals in daily life with fibromyalgia: A value-expectancy analysis

Eighty-nine women with fibromyalgia completed the Life Orientation Test, id entified health and social goals, and answered questions from the Goal Syst ems Assessment Battery (P. Karoly & L. Ruehlman, 1995) about their valuatio n of, and self-efficiency in attaining, each goal. For 30 days, they respon ded to palm-top computer interviews about their pain and fatigue and rated their goal effort, goal progress, and pain- and fatigue-related goal barrie rs. Goal barriers increased and goal efforts and progress decreased on days with greater pain and fatigue; goals valued more highly were pursued more effortfully and successfully; more optimistic individuals were less likely to perceive goal barriers and, on days that were more fatiguing than usual, were less likely to reduce their effort and to retreat from progress in ac hieving their health goal; and more pessimistic individuals perceived great er goal barriers on days that were less painful than usual.