Inkonsistenz und psychische Gesundheit: eine Metaanalyse

Consistency within the psychological processes is accepted as a precondition for efficient functioning and good health. Inconsistency in contrast impairs meeting the requirements of environment and therefore impairs the satisfaction of human needs. It is also seen as a stressor and having the potential to increase the vulnerability for mental disorders (Grawe, 1998, 2004). Incongruence is a form of Inconsistency, describing the divergency between the perception of reality and the goals of a person. Discordance as a second form of Inconsistency is the amount of conflict between goals, wishes and motives. According to the Consistency Theory of Grawe, these two forms of Inconsistency together with avoidance goals and satisfaction of human needs play an important role at the emergence and the maintenance of mental disorders, as well as for the wellbeing of humans. This study includes a short overview of the conceptions of Inconsistency in the psychological literature and a metaanalysis about the interrelations between forms of Inconsistency and characteristics of health and disease. The results support mostly the assumptions of Consistency Theory. Almost all forms of Inconsistency are associated with characteristics of subjective wellbeing, health and disease. One has to take into consideration, that most of the results come from correlational studies with only one measuring time. It is therefore not possible to distinguish between cause and effect.