Im trying to find out (for a paper) if there is a link between not being able to act according to ones own values, due to abuse or other factors, and depression.
My issue is that the only term I can think of is "integrity" and I havent found any literature investigating "integrity" and mental health outcomes.
So Im wondering if Im missing the correct term.
This is a very good question because psychology and its application will involve looking at what you are referring to in all sorts of ways.
To me, what you are referring to is congruence. One of the prominent people who discussed congruence was Carl Rogers, who developed the Person Centred approach to psychotherapy as opposed to the psychodynamic/psychoanalytic approach.
In its simple terms, congruence was referred to by Carl Rogers to involve the real self and the ideal self. In this simplified example, if your real (current/actually possible) self matches your "ideal" (sometimes impossible) self you have built in your mind, you are living congruently.
As I said, this is a very simplistic description for the initial introduction to the concept, and when you fully immerse yourself in the concept, it is multifaceted and lies at the heart of Carl Rogers' 19 Propositions.
You have self-image congruence, mood congruence, values congruence, political congruence, cultural congruence... The list goes on.
