Modeling the effects of within-person characteristic and goal-level attributes on personal project pursuit over time

Virtue in Pursuit of Goals: A Goals-Based Approach to Patience Measurement

In this paper, we provide a contextualized assessment of virtue through validation of a goals-based approach to measuring patience, the Goals-Based Virtue-Patience Scale (GBV-P). To assess virtue in a way congruent with its definition requires consideration of situational and contextual factors; however, most extant measures of virtue instead assess virtue at a decontextualized, global level (Ng & Tay, 2020). As such, we developed a contextualized and motivationally attuned goals-based assessment of the virtue of patience, the ability to remain calm in the face of frustration, suffering, or delay in goal pursuit. We engaged multilevel structural equation modeling to validate a new measure of patience in pursuit of goals nested within people. Across three studies (N = 798) assessing the GBV-P, data were consistent with reliability and structural validity tests, and associations of the new measure with other regulatory virtues or constructs (e.g., global patience, self-control, conscientiousness, perseverance, emotion regulation) as well as well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, goal orientation, meaning) and ill-being outcomes (e.g., depression and anxiety symptoms, loneliness, stress) provided evidence of convergent validity. Likewise, patience was differentially engaged depending on the goal domain and type; approach (vs. avoidance), interpersonal (vs. intrapersonal), and generativity goals were pursued with more patience.

Transcendent motivations and virtue development in adolescent marathon runners

OBJECTIVE

To understand how health, prosocial, and spiritual motivations correspond to changes in the virtues of self-control, patience, and interpersonal generosity among adolescents and emerging adults.

METHOD

Participants included adolescent and emerging adult athletes (N = 396; 12-22 years, M = 18.42, SD = 2.03) on marathon training teams fundraising for a faith-based charity. Participants completed self-report questionnaires four times over six months. Participants were 63% female and identified as 61% Caucasian, 17% Latino/a, 10% African American, 6% Asian American, and 6% other.

RESULTS

Bivariate latent growth curve models showed positive relations between baseline levels of transcendent motivations (spiritual, prosocial) and all three virtues (self-control, patience, interpersonal generosity) as well as baseline health motivation and self-control. Linear slopes in all three motivations were positively correlated with change in patience, and greater decreases in these motivations from wave 1 to wave 2 before recovering motivation in subsequent waves correlated with less change in patience. Only the linear slope in prosocial motivation positively correlated with change in generosity. None of the motivation slopes correlated with change in self-control.

CONCLUSIONS

More than just sport participation is required to cultivate virtue in adolescents; instead, transcendent and non-transcendent motivations are concurrently developing for athletes who increase in prosocial virtues.