Giuseppe Femia, Isabella Federico, Guyonne Rogier, Francesca D’Olimpio, Francesco Mancini, Andrea Gragnani

Key words: goals, anti-goals, self-report, validation, assessment, personality

Objective: The clinical and empirical investigation of the role of investment in goals and anti-goals is limited by the lack of an easy-to-use tool. This is critical, as psychopathology, and specifically pathological personality, is characterized by an overinvestment in goals and anti-goals, rigidity in these investments and, consequently, by a poor existential plan that generates suffering and resistance to change. To develop a preliminary version of a self-report questionnaire measuring investment levels in goals and anti-goals, described as core features of the most common psychopathological conditions. To test the factorial structure of the tool and examine preliminary data on its construct validity.
Method: The Inventory of Goals and Anti-Goals (IGAG) was developed. A total of 572 participants (Mage= 33.05 years; SD= 10.01; 61.62 % females), including community participants (n =424) and patients (n =148), was asked to complete a battery of questionnaires including the IGAG, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 and the Symptom-Checklist-90-Revised. Exploratory factor analysis, Mann-Whitney U tests and correlations were computed.
Results: Analyses identified an eight-factor structure and significant differences between groups on several factors. IGAG scores were largely significantly and positively correlated with the PID-5 and SCL-90-R in the expected directions. Conclusions: The IGAG appears to be a promising instrument for both research and clinical practice. Results suggest a strong relationship between overinvestment in goals and anti-goals and psychopathology. Several limitations necessitate future modifications of its content and additional efforts for validation.