Goal conflict and psychological well-being: A meta-analysis

•A meta-analysis was conducted on the relationship between goal conflict and psychological well-being.•Goal conflict was significantly related to psychological well-being.•The relationship between goal conflict and well-being was stronger for negative aspects of well-being.•Polarity and type of assessment of goal conflict moderated the relationship of goal conflict and well-being.

Goal conflict has long been an important aspect of motivation theories, but the results of research on the relationship between goal conflict and psychological well-being have been inconsistent. A meta-analytic review of the literature (k = 54) was conducted to examine this association. Higher levels of goal conflict are related to lower levels of positive psychological outcomes and greater psychological distress, though this relationship is stronger for distress outcomes. Other moderators that produced significant differences in effect sizes were whether a goal matrix was used to assess goal conflict, whether unipolar or bipolar assessment of goal conflict was used, and whether adult or student samples were studied. This meta-analysis provides evidence that goal conflict has a negative association with psychological well-being.