Do flexible goal adjustment and acceptance help preserve quality of life in patients with Multiple Sclerosis?

Background Goal regulation strategies such as flexible goal adjustment and acceptance are believed to be protective factors in persons with chronic illness, but research on their relative contributions to quality of life in multiple sclerosis (MS) is lacking. Purpose We aimed to test the idea that acceptance and flexible goal adjustment (in contrast to tenacious goal pursuit) may help preserve the quality of life in persons with MS. Method A sample of 117 patients with MS was recruited. They completed questionnaires measuring quality of life (physical functioning, psychological distress), acceptance, flexible goal adjustment, and tenacious goal pursuit. Results Acceptance significantly accounted for variance in all three indexes of quality of life, beyond the effects of demographic and illness characteristics. The role of goal regulation style was less clear. Flexible goal adjustment significantly accounted for psychological well-being only. Surprisingly, tenacious goal pursuit predicted better psychological functioning and less psychological distress. No support was found for the hypothesis that acceptance and flexible goal adjustment would moderate the relation between illness severity and quality of life. Conclusion The findings suggest the potential importance of acceptance in understanding MS patients' quality of life, although its hypothesized protective function could not be confirmed. Further conceptual work on acceptance and goal regulation style is needed, as well as prospective work investigating their causal status