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Published on: April 18, 2017
Conceptualizing distress tolerance as goal pursuit
1Department of Psychology, Fordham University, 441 E. Fordham Rd, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA.
None:
Distress tolerance is widely studied in the empirical literature, but the construct remains conceptually ambiguous. This article presents a conceptual analysis that diagnoses problems with existing definitions and proposes a new theoretical approach. The proposal anchors distress tolerance to the tension between high-value goals (that matter over the long run) and distress-driven impulses (that matter momentarily). The theory relies on a heuristic called a distress tolerance conflict (DTC), which organizes the affective, cognitive, and behavioral processes involved in enacting distress tolerance. In a DTC, distress tolerance occurs when someone resists a distress-driven impulse that pulls for immediate escape and instead acts in support of a high-value goal. DTCs' potential clinical and research utility is discussed.
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