Motivational power of future time perspective: Meta-analyses in education, work, and health

Improving adult eating behaviours by manipulating time perspective: a systematic review and meta-analysis

There is a growing body of research on improving health behaviours through future thinking but that in improving eating behaviour remains unclear. Hence, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of time perspective manipulation in improving adult eating behaviours. Articles published from inception through 17 March 2022 were retrieved from eight databases (CINAHL, Embase, ProQuest, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, The Cochrane library, and Web of Science). Meta-analysis was conducted using random effects models with effect sizes reported in Hedges' g. Sixteen experimental studies were included, representing 1,914 participants with mean ages ranging from 20.5 to 44.1 years old and mean baseline BMI of 22.0 kg/m2 to 37.2 kg/m2. The interventions included were episodic future thinking (EFT; n = 12), message framing (n = 2), and varying inter-meal intervals (IMI; n = 2) in improving food choices, food intake and portion size. Two studies reported significant interventional effectiveness for domain-specific EFT while all studies on message framing and IMI reported significant interventional effectiveness. Message framing seemed to be more effective when both temporal distance and valence frames were manipulated. However, the pooled effect sizes of all the interventions did not result in a significant interventional effect (n = 5; g = -0.49; 95% confidence interval (CI) = -1.44, 0.47; p = 0.23; I2=87.2%). More rigorous research is needed to ascertain the effectiveness of manipulating time perspective in improving eating behaviours before such interventions are more widely used.

Balancing Time for Health Behaviors: Associations of Time Perspective With Physical Activity and Weight Management in Older Adults

PURPOSE

To examine associations between time perspective and health promotion behaviors of physical activity and weight management.

DESIGN

Quantitative cross-sectional.

SETTING

This study is part of the Betula project on aging, memory, and dementia in Northern Sweden.

SUBJECTS

417 older adults aged between 55 and 85 years.

MEASURES

Swedish-Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory; Physical Activity in the past year, past week, and in comparison with others of similar age; Weight Management = Body Mass Index (BMI; kg/m2).

RESULTS

After controlling for age, sex, and years of education, hierarchical linear regression indicated a Balanced Time Perspective was significantly associated with more physical activity in the past year (P = .04), the past week (P < .001), and in comparison with others (P < .01). Past Negative time perspective was associated with less physical activity in the past year (P = .03), and in comparison with others (P = .03). Present Fatalistic was associated with less physical activity during the past week (P = .03), and in comparison with others (P = .01). Present Hedonistic was associated with more physical activity the past week (P = .03), and in comparison with others (P = .03). Past Negative was associated with higher BMI (P = .02), and Future Negative were associated with lower BMI (P = .01). Taken collectively, greater positivity and flexibility across time perspectives was associated with more physical activity, whereas negative oriented time perspectives related with less physical activity and poorer weight management.

CONCLUSION

Time perspective can be associated with health behaviors in older adults and have implications for health across the lifespan. Health promotion interventions may target older adults' enjoyment of exercise and weight management in the present, rather than highlight potential negative health outcomes in the future.

Self-Concept and Temporality in Institutionalized Elders

The current investigation examined the self-concept and temporality in institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly. Sixty-two participants divided into two groups according to their place of residence participated in the study. The analysis focused on psychopathological scales, on self-concept assessment, its positive or negative valence, its development and the time perspective. The results showed that the institutionalized group was defined more with descriptive evaluations, emotional states, and peripheral information. The non-institutionalized group described themselves more with traits and specific attributes. For some identity statements, the emotional valence between the two groups was significantly different. The institutionalized group is not turned towards a particular temporal perspective, unlike the non-institutionalized who is more forward-looking. Findings suggest that there are differences in self-expression and temporality in our sample. This exploratory study emphasizes the importance of taking into account the self of institutionalized elderly and the temporality in which they are projected upon entering an institution.

Construction and validation of a new Generational Time Perspective Questionnaire

The article presents a proposal for a new diagnostic tool-the Generational Time Perspective Questionnaire. The Generational Time Perspective was defined as a cognitive-affective representation of the future in relation to the lives of a generation of people that the current generation of people will not live to see. This definition was the starting point for the construction of the Generational Time Perspective Questionnaire. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicate a two-factor structure of the Generational Time Perspective Questionnaire. The first factor includes items about the cognitive representation of the future in the next generations. The second factor describes negative emotions towards the problems that humanity may face in future generations. The reliability of the particular dimensions of the questionnaire is satisfactory. The Generational Time Perspective Questionnaire correlates with other constructs that diagnose different aspects of an individual's temporality.

Time Perspective, Dietary Behavior, and Glycemic Control in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

BACKGROUND

Dietary behavior is a key component in the self-management of patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM), as it is essential for glycemic control and preventing diabetic complications. However, it is challenging for patients with diabetes to make sustainable dietary behavior changes and achieve long-term optimal glycemic control.

OBJECTIVES

Dietary behavior changes involve present efforts to achieve future benefits. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationships among time perspective, dietary behaviors, and health outcomes in patients with T2DM. Based on the temporal self-regulation theory and previous research, the secondary aim of the study was to explore how time perspective influences dietary behaviors.

METHODS

Following convenient sampling ( N = 329), a cross-sectional study was conducted in patients with T2DM between November 2021 and October 2022. Data were collected using self-reported questionnaires and the retrieval of clinical information from medical records. Hierarchical regression and path analysis were used to explore the relationships among study variables.

RESULTS

Our analyses showed that a future-oriented time perspective was associated with better dietary behavior but was not significantly related to hemoglobin A1c. Hierarchical regression analysis also demonstrated that having a more future-oriented time perspective was associated with healthier dietary behavior after controlling covariates. Based on the theory and path analysis, there was an indirect effect of future time perspective on dietary behavior through self-control capacity and intention.

DISCUSSION

The study reveals that a future-oriented time perspective can promote healthier dietary behavior when providing care for patients with T2DM. As a theoretical framework, the temporal self-regulation theory offers references for researchers and clinicians to take into consideration patients' time perspectives and their intentions and self-control capacity when developing interventional programs to improve dietary behaviors.

How time orientation matters for happiness: The nonmonotonic relations featured with a middle valley

Most previous studies have shown that focusing on the future predicts higher subjective well-being (SWB), but some have reported contradictory results. Due to mixed findings on the relationship between time orientation (TO) and SWB, the present study attempted to clarify and reinterpret this relationship from a nonmonotonic perspective by analyzing two large-scale datasets from the European Social Survey (Study 1; 31 countries, total N = 88,873) and tested the cross-cultural generalizability of our findings in a Chinese sample (Study 2; N = 797). The results confirmed a nonmonotonic relationship between TO and SWB and first revealed a "Middle Valley Effect." This effect demonstrated a decreased SWB at the midpoint of the TO scale, indicating that maintaining a dominant TO, whether present or future, rather than being torn between the two, could improve SWB. This nonmonotonic relationship resolves previous inconsistent findings and suggests that an appropriate clear TO can benefit SWB.

A systematic review of the impact of future-oriented thinking on academic outcomes

Future-oriented thought is a broad construct that characterize the ability to generate mental representations of the future and project oneself into a variety of hypothetical states. It is well established that the degree to which one is focused more on the past, present, or future has a variety of implications on psychological functioning. This study focuses on the relationship between future-oriented thought and academic performance of students. To bridge this gap, we conducted the first systematic review investigating the benefit of future-oriented thought on promoting positive outcomes in academic settings. Our systematic review comprised 21 studies (k = 21). Results identified a clear relationship between future-oriented thought and positive outcomes in academic settings. Furthermore, our systematic review reveals important relationships between future-oriented thought and academic engagement, as well as future-oriented thought and academic performance. Our findings suggest that those who are more future-oriented demonstrate higher levels of academic engagement compared to those who were less future-oriented. Our findings suggest that probing and guiding students toward a future goal may increase their academic engagement and performance.

Do Good Citizens Look to the Future? The Link Between National Identification and Future Time Perspective and Their Role in Explaining Citizens' Reactions to Conflicts Between Short-Term and Long-Term National Interests

When people consider what is good for their country, they might face a conflict between the country's short-term and long-term interests. We suggest that resolving this conflict depends on people's form of national identification and future time perspective. Across four studies (N = 4,274), we showed that constructive patriotism, but not conventional patriotism or glorification, was positively associated with future time perspective. Moreover, we showed that this further translated into people's responses to intertemporal conflicts. Specifically, constructive patriotism was indirectly linked to higher support for national policies with long-term advantages (despite short-term disadvantages) and lower support for national policies with long-term disadvantages (despite short-term advantages), and these links were mediated by future time perspective. Overall, our results demonstrate that distinct forms of national identification are differently linked to future time perspective. Likewise, this helps explain differences in how much people care about their country's present and future.

Future orientation and moral judgment in chinese youths: the mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of self-control

Based on the self-regulation theory, this study aims to examine the relationship between youths' future orientation and judgment of their own immoral behaviors. A moderated mediation model was constructed to investigate the mediating role of moral disengagement and moderating role of self-control. Six hundred and twenty-eight Chinese youths, with an age range from 16 to 34 years (M = 23.08, SD = 2.65), were recruited to take part in an anonymous survey about future orientation, moral disengagement, self-control, and moral judgment. Results revealed that youths with high future orientation judged their own moral transgressions more harshly and that moral disengagement partially mediated the relationship between the two. Moderated mediation analysis further demonstrated that self-control moderated the relationship between future orientation and moral disengagement and the indirect effect between future orientation and youths' judgment of their own immoral behaviors. To be specific, the indirect effect was much stronger for youths with high levels of self-control. These findings not only enrich the research about how future orientation affects youths' judgment of their own immoral behaviors, but also reveal the underlying mechanisms between future orientation and moral judgment, which can provide practical guidance for implementing measures that effectively enhance youths' moral character and cultivate their ability to think positively about the future.

Future orientation in justice-involved youth: The effects of adverse and positive childhood experiences, and being dual-status

BACKGROUND

Justice-involved youth face diverse challenges and are likely to experience more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and fewer positive childhood experiences (PCEs), which can have implications for their orientation toward their future. Future orientation is thought to influence behavior, but little is known about how it is shaped. While future orientation and its correlates likely matter for all justice-involved youth, the recently recognized subcategory of Dual Status Youths (DSYs) might be especially sensitive to influences on future orientation.

OBJECTIVE

This study explores the effects of cumulative adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), cumulative positive childhood experiences (PCEs), and DSY classification on the likelihood of having a positive orientation toward the future.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The researchers analyze a sample of 3604 justice-involved youth on probation in a large metropolitan area in Texas.

METHOD

The sample includes juveniles who received the full Positive Achievement Change Tool (PACT) risk/needs assessment. The analytical plan included t-tests and two logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

Findings were that DSY are exposed to more ACEs and fewer PCEs than non-dual status justice-involved youth. Results indicated that a greater number of PCEs is associated with future orientation, but DSY status and ACEs are not.

CONCLUSIONS

Juvenile justice programming must strive to cultivate PCEs in justice-involved youth prior to the completion of their probation supervision.

A Time to Get Vaccinated? The Role of Time Perspective, Consideration of Future Consequences, Conspiracy Beliefs, Religious Faith, Gender, and Race on Intention to Vaccinate for COVID-19 in the United States

The present study examined the predictability of Time Perspective (TP) tendencies (i.e., Past Positive, Past Negative, Present Hedonistic, Present Fatalistic, and Future), the Balanced Time Perspective (BTP) profile, the Consideration of Future Consequences-Immediate (CFC-I) factor, the Consideration of Future Consequences-Future (CFC-F) factor, conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 being a hoax, religious faith, gender, and race on COVID-19 vaccination intention as a dependent variable. Participants were recruited in the United States through the online platforms Prolific and Google Forms. The final sample was n = 232 (n = 99 male, n = 129 female, and n = 2 other, Mage = 31). Outcome measures included sociodemographic questions, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory-short version, the Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) ultra-short scale, the COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs questionnaire, and the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire-brief version. Regression analyses revealed that vaccination intention was reduced by gender identification as woman, identification as multiracial or from mixed origin, Past Positive, Deviation from a BTP profile, belief in COVID-19 as hoax, and religious faith. Conversely, intention to vaccinate against COVID-19 was increased by Past Negative, CFC-I, and CFC-F. These findings could be beneficial for knowledge transfer to behavioral interventions aimed to promote vaccination against COVID-19, health promotion campaigns, and the public health field.

Future time perspective and academic procrastination among nursing students: The mediating role of mindfulness

AIM

To explore the relationship between university nursing students' academic procrastination, mindfulness, and future time perspective.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A total of 343 university nursing students recruited from eight provinces in China have reported procrastination characteristics through fulfilling an online website link. The main instruments involved Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Zimbardo Time Perspective Scale, and Procrastination Assessment Scale (PASS).

RESULTS

Participants who self-assessed higher frequency and degree of academic procrastination tended to possess lower future time consciousness, and lower mindfulness. Mindfulness served as a mediation effect between future time perspective and academic procrastination. The study indicates that weakening an individual's procrastination can be alleviated through future time awareness and mindfulness. Concentrating on influencing factors, strengthening nursing student's future time perspective, and practicing mindfulness training could assist educators to decrease students' procrastination intentions and behaviours.

Gender differences in future time perspectives and risk of being not in employment, education, or training: the mediating role of achievement goal motivations

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between future time perspectives (FTP) and risk of being not in employment, education, or training (NEET) with the mediating role of achievement goal motivations among undergraduate students in Vietnam. It revealed that FTP was negatively related to NEET risk, indicating students who focused on their future seemed more likely to decrease the risk of being NEET. Among achievement goals, mastery-approach orientation and performance-avoidance orientation played mediating roles in the FTP and NEET risk relationship. Precisely, mastery-approach orientation played a complete mediating effect in the female sample while performance-avoidance orientation acted as a partial mediator in the male sample (explained by the social role theory). The findings enrich the understanding of NEET risk and its relevant factors, as well as contribute to the educational field regarding undergraduates' future planning and intervention to enhance motivation across genders. The implications and limitations of these findings were discussed.

Sense of country: General and specific factors covary with social identification and predict emigration plans

Theoretical analyses of person-environment interaction describe complex models, addressing different levels of social systems, while models of the sense of community provide a base for transferring views of this interaction to the national level. This paper presents two studies that explored the structure of the sense of country and its relation to emigration plans and social identification. Study 1 involved 1,005 adults from Latvia. The Sense of Country Inventory (SOCI) included influence, perceived opportunities, belonging, and spatiotemporal commitment as the components of this sense. The bifactor model demonstrated the best fit and confirmed the general factor, integrating components of the sense of country, and specific factors, emphasizing its complexity. The validation demonstrated that the general sense of country is the main negative predictor of emigration plans. Study 2 included 247 participants who completed the SOCI and Identification With All Humanity Scale (IWAH). Correlating with national identification, the sense of country negatively predicted emigration plans that reflected the social identity continuity pathway. In turn, a negative relationship between the sense of country and global identification, which positively predicted emigration plans, revealed a social identity gain pathway. Together, the studies present the integrative nature of the sense of country and its links to emigration plans and national and global social identification.

Parenting and mobile phone addiction tendency of Chinese adolescents: The roles of self-control and future time perspective

Previous studies examined the impact of parenting on adolescents' mobile phone addiction tendencies. However, relatively few studies examined the potential mechanism underlying such a relationship. Thus, the present study further explored the mediation effect of self-control and the moderating effect of future time perspective between parenting and mobile phone addiction tendencies of Chinese adolescents. A sample of 1,349 Chinese adolescents (M_age = 15. 22 years, SD = 0.79) responded to the anonymous questionnaires regarding parenting, including parental control and parental care, self-control, future time perspective, and mobile phone addiction tendency. The results showed that (1) parental control was positively related to adolescents' mobile phone addiction tendencies, while parental care was negatively related to adolescents' mobile phone addiction tendencies; (2) self-control could mediate the pathway from both parental control and parental care to adolescents' mobile phone addiction tendencies; and (3) the indirect pathway could be moderated by future time perspective. Specifically, a high future time perspective combined with high self-control predicted a low level of mobile phone addiction tendency. In contrast, low self-control was associated with a high tendency toward mobile phone addiction, regardless of their future time perspective. The present study revealed a complex interplay between family and individual factors contributing to adolescents' mobile phone addiction tendencies.

Future Time Perspective and Bedtime Procrastination: The Mediating Role of Dual-Mode Self-Control and Problematic Smartphone Use

This study examined bedtime procrastination predictors and the development process concerning health behavior. Based on temporal self-regulation theory and the self-regulatory framework of time perspective, we examined the effects of future time perspective, dual-model of self-control, and problematic smartphone use on bedtime procrastination. Further, including the mediating role of dual-mode self-control and problematic smartphone use in the effects of future time perspective on bedtime procrastination among 3687 participants (38.73% male; M_age = 16.17 years, SD = 2.42, range = 11-23) Chinese students. The results showed that the future time perspective, dual-mode self-control, and problematic smartphone use had significant predictive effects on bedtime procrastination. Importantly, the negative effect of future time perspective on bedtime procrastination is mediated by the impulse system, control system, and problematic smartphone use separately and serially mediated by the impulse system and problematic smartphone use, rather than the control system and problematic smartphone use; these findings extend previous research on the contributing factors of bedtime procrastination and provide an empirical basis for promoting people to form healthy sleep habits.

Self-disclosure during the COVID-19 emergency: Effects of narcissism traits, time perspective, virtual presence, and hedonic gratification

During the COVID-19 emergency, people must face the invisible threat of uncertain death and comply with social distancing and other related protective measures. But social networking sites (SNSs) like WeChat have emerged as alternative contexts where people can maintain self and obtain gratification, despite the disclosure of self to others often being a challenging issue. To examine the effect of personality factors on people's self-disclosure on SNSs, we develop a model based on the time perspective theory and the socioemotional selectivity theory. We suggest that people's narcissism traits and two types of time perspective (i.e. future and present-hedonistic) have positive effects on their self-disclosure. In addition, we propose that virtual presence and hedonic gratification mediate the effects of both future time perspective and present-hedonistic time perspective. We obtain a sample of 516 WeChat users in China and take ex-ante and post-hoc measures to deal with common method variance. By means of partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) methods, we validate both our measurement model and the structural model, so we confirm all the hypothesized causal paths in the proposed model. Our study broadens the boundaries of the time perspective theory and the socioemotional selectivity theory, and offers new insights for addressing some of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

No Evidence for a Boost in Psychosocial Functioning in Older Age After a 6-Months Physical Exercise Intervention

The beneficial effects of physical exercise on physical health and cognitive functioning have been repeatedly shown. However, evidence of its effect on psychosocial functioning in healthy adults is still scarce or inconclusive. One limitation of many studies examining this link is their reliance on correlational approaches or specific subpopulations, such as clinical populations. The present study investigated the effects of a physical exercise intervention on key factors of psychosocial functioning, specifically well-being, stress, loneliness, and future time perspective. We used data from healthy, previously sedentary older adults (N = 132) who participated in a 6-month at-home intervention, either engaging in aerobic exercise or as part of a control group who participated in foreign language-learning or reading of selected native-language literature. Before and after the intervention, comprehensive cardiovascular pulmonary testing and a psychosocial questionnaire were administered. The exercise group showed significantly increased fitness compared to the control group. Contrary to expectations, however, we did not find evidence for a beneficial effect of this fitness improvement on any of the four domains of psychosocial functioning we assessed. This may be due to pronounced stability of such psychological traits in older age, especially in older adults who show high levels of well-being initially. Alternatively, it may be that the well-documented beneficial effects of physical exercise on brain structure and function, as well as cognition differ markedly from beneficial effects on psychosocial functioning. While aerobic exercise may be the driving factor for the former, positive effects on the latter may only be invoked by other aspects of exercise, for example, experiences of mastery or a feeling of community.

Development and validation of a scale to evaluate students' future impact perception related to the coronavirus pandemic (C-19FIPS)

During the outbreak of the novel COVID-19 pandemic, economies around the world underwent unprecedented changes, which negatively limited young people’s perceptions of their future. The study aims to describe the development and validation of the 10-item COVID-19 Future Impact Perception Scale (C-19FIPS), a measurement tool to assess future impact perception related to COVID-19, among university students. Inductive and deductive approaches were used at the phase of the scale development process. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) applying two different SEM based analytical methods, covariance-based SEM (CB-SEM) and variance based SEM (PLS-SEM) were used to explore and predict the data. The EFA output generated two dimensions with 10 items. The dimensions are Personal Perception (C-19 PF) and Country Perception (C-19 CF) that reflects the notion of Future Impact Perception related to COVID-19. The result of the CFA confirmed the EFA result. Based on the reliability and validity check results, it is apparent that the scale demonstrates good psychometric properties. Evidence was also provided for convergent and discriminant validity. The study provided a short, valid and reliable measure to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college students’ future perceptions. Knowing how external situations influence the world of young people is useful for the development of targeted interventions that favor their well-being and that can support them in situations perceived as uncertain and risky. Limitations and future lines are discussed.

Age, frequency of volunteering, and Present-Hedonistic time perspective predict donating items to people in need, but not money to combat COVID-19 during lock-down

Restrictions due to COVID-19 necessitated staying at home, but in some cases, encouraged charitable behavior, e.g., donating items to people in need (e.g., clothes, food), or money to support combatting COVID-19. Drawing on the previous findings regarding helping during disastrous situations and roles of time perspective in helping behaviors, the study tested the predictive value of age, gender, previous volunteering, altruistic social value orientation, and time perspectives of donating items to people in need or money to combat COVID-19. The study is pioneering in terms of including time perspectives as individual differences which might contribute to making donations during COVID-19 circumstances. The study was questionnaire-based and conducted online in the eighth week of social distancing in Poland. 150 young adults (age 18-35) took part in the study. Results of multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that age, frequency of volunteering before the epidemic, and Present-Hedonistic time perspective predict donating items to people in need, but none of the tested variables predicted donating money to combat COVID-19. The findings suggest that charitable behavior, especially in the context of extraordinary social situations, needs to be treated as a multifaceted phenomenon. The study indicates that a Present-Hedonistic time perspective would be a promising individual difference to test in future studies on prosociality.

The Relationship Between the Duration of Attention to Pandemic News and Depression During the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019: The Roles of Risk Perception and Future Time Perspective

Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China, people have been exposed to a flood of media news related to the pandemic every day. Studies have shown that media news about public crisis events have a significant impact on individuals' depression. However, how and when the duration of attention to pandemic news predicts depression still remains an open question. This study established a moderated mediating model to investigate the relationship between the duration of attention to pandemic news and depression, the mediating effect of risk perception, and the moderating effect of future time perspective on the relationship. In early February 2020, 701 individuals from 29 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across China were asked to self-report their duration of attention to pandemic news, level of depression, risk perception, and future time perspective during the COVID-19 outbreak. Results show that there is a significant positive correlation between the duration of attention to news on COVID-19 and depression; risk perception mediates the association between the duration of attention to pandemic news and depression; and future time perspective plays a moderating role between risk perception and depression. The findings of the present study provide theoretical implications and practically throw some light on alleviating the public's depression during pandemic periods. We highlight that the individual's hope for a better future, focusing on positive news, and time perspective balance during an epidemic disease are also beneficial to promoting positive emotion and reducing depression.

Time Perspective and Bedtime Procrastination: The Role of the Chronotype-Time Perspective Relationship

INTRODUCTION

Bedtime procrastination (BP) has a close relationship with one's chronotype, from a biological perspective on time. However, it remains unknown whether there is an association between BP and psychological time. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between time perspective (TP) and BP and the effect of TP on the relationship between BP and chronotype by examining a sample of college students pre- and post-COVID-19 outbreak.

METHODS

A total of 628 Chinese students (267 in pre-outbreak and 361 in post-outbreak) validly completed the Chinese version of the Bedtime Procrastination Scale, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), and the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Students with more BP behaviors exhibited greater deviation from a balanced TP, especially after the COVID-19 outbreak. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the past-negative and future orientations, as operationalized by the ZTPI, contributed independently to BP behaviors. The structural equation modeling analyses further demonstrated that morningness was significantly related to a more future-oriented TP, which in turn decreased BP in pre- and post-COVID-19 outbreak samples, while morningness was associated with a less past-negative-oriented TP, which in turn decreased BP only in the post-COVID-19 outbreak sample.

CONCLUSION

This study indicated that TP in students with BP predominantly focused on future orientation and that TP can mediate the relationship between chronotype and BP behaviors. However, the COVID-19 pandemic may disrupt the time flow and change the role of chronotype-TP in BP. These findings explain how individual differences in TP are associated with BP, which may be helpful in designing effective interventions to avoid BP, from the viewpoint of time perspective therapy.

Letters to our Future Selves? High-Powered Replication Attempts Question Effects on Future Orientation, Delinquent Decisions, and Risky Investments

Enhancing people's future orientation, in particular continuity with their future selves, has been proposed as promising to mitigate self-control–related problem behavior. In two pre-registered, direct replication studies, we tested a subtle manipulation, that is, writing a letter to one's future self, in order to reduce delinquent decisions (van Gelder et al., 2013, Study 1) and risky investments (Monroe et al., 2017, Study 1). With samples of n = 314 and n = 463, which is 2.5 times the original studies' sample sizes, the results suggested that the expected effects are either non-existent or smaller than originally reported, and/or dependent on factors not examined. Vividness of the future self was successfully manipulated in Study 2, but manipulation checks overall indicated that the letter task is not reliable to alter future orientation. We discuss ideas to integrate self-affirmation approaches and to test less subtle manipulations in samples with substantial, myopia-related self-control deficits.

Time Attitude Profiles and Health-Related Behaviors: Validation of a Spanish Version of the Adolescent and Adult Time Inventory-Time Attitudes (AATI-TA)

Temporal psychology constructs are an individual difference variable related to behavioral outcomes. Recent research has shown that there are different time attitude profiles based on different configurations of the six Adolescent and Adult Time Inventory-Time Attitude (AATI-TA) subscales. The objective of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of AATI-TA scores in Uruguay and determine the existence of temporal profiles in this context. Participants were a convenience sample of 446 (36.5% males) adults in Uruguay with a mean age of 34.53 years (SD = 13.17, range 18-75 years). Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the AATI-TA, and questionnaires on intentions, behaviors, and attitudes towards healthy food consumption and physical activity. AATI-TA scores had good reliabilities (> .70). The six-factor solution was supported and invariance by gender and age group was established. We identified five profiles - Resilients, High Positives, Negatives, Present Negatives, and Moderate Positives - which were associated differently with healthy food consumption patterns. Negative profiles were related to higher levels of unhealthy food consumption.

Telecommuting during the coronavirus pandemic: Future time orientation as a mediator between proactive coping and perceived work productivity in two cultural samples

This study examines the relationship between proactive coping, future time orientation, and perceived work productivity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, based on the work-from-home experience of employees in Taiwan and the United States (U.S.). It draws on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, which posits that proactive coping and future time orientation are crucial personal resources that affect the capacity of an individual to adapt to stressful situations. The results show that in the relationship between proactive coping and perceived work productivity, future time orientation acts as a full mediator in Taiwan and a partial mediator in the U.S. The study extends the application of the COR theory to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and offers important insights that will enable professionals to assess the role of proactive coping and future time orientation in their productivity evaluations of working tasks and to design appropriate training sessions.

The relationship between balanced and negative time perspectives, and symptoms of anxiety and depression

Previous research has demonstrated how time perspective, and in particular scores on the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), is significantly related to measures of Anxiety and Depression. However, ZTPI scores have been operationalized in multiple ways, including as composite scores, taking simultaneous account of mean values on all five dimensions. The present study examined if two of these composite approaches, Deviation from a Negative and/or a Balanced Time Perspective (DNTP/DBTP) scores, were significantly related to self-reported symptoms of Anxiety and Depression. Data were in two independent University samples (N = 530; N = 410), including ZTPI data, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale data. While path models revealed significant relationships between DBTP, DNTP and both HADS-A and HADS-D scores, these did not always survive the inclusion of direct paths between ZTPI dimensions and HADS score. In other words, some individual ZTPI dimensions, in particular past negative, appear to be more important than overall composite score. Scores were self-reported, and both samples were gathered in the same geography, making generalizability of findings difficult. On the basis of these results, further studies across different samples and age groups using DNTP and DBTP are required.

‘Looking to the Future and the University in an Inclusive and Sustainable Way’: A Career Intervention for High School Students

Career guidance needs new perspectives, considering the challenges that characterize our future, and it cannot exist without solidarity, inclusion, and attention to environmental challenges. It should also positively influence stakeholders to invest in the values of the 2030 Agenda recently proposed by the United Nations, and its encouragement to think about some of the emergencies that new generations will have to face in the future. Based on these premises, we designed and validated a sustainable career guidance intervention for high school students. The participants (N = 75) were assigned to an experimental or a control group. All of the participants answered questions pre- and post-intervention to measure career adaptability, training, future investment, and wishes about the feature. The students from the sustainable career intervention group increased their post-intervention scores on control, curiosity, confidence, training, and future investment. They also indicated future wishes that take into more account attention to relationships and social challenges.

General vs health-specific consideration of immediate and future consequences to explain eating and exercise behavior in a Norwegian student population: A randomized survey experiment

Over several decades, the consideration of future consequences (CFC) construct has been used to explain and predict health behaviors. However, the reported associations between CFC and health behaviors are relatively weak, leading to the low explanatory power of the models. Recent research suggests that CFC can be a domain-specific construct. In this study, we explored the psychometric properties of the Norwegian CFC-general and CFC-health questionnaires in terms of factor structure and discriminant and convergent validity and tested the association between the general and domain-specific CFC and exercise and eating behaviors. In a randomized survey experiment, 1,001 university students were assigned to either a CFC-general or a CFC-health questionnaire. In the tested models, two dimensions of CFC, consideration of immediate consequences (CFC-I) and consideration of future consequences (CFC-F), were independent variables. The exercise and eating behaviors, measured both as self-evaluated behaviors and self-reported frequency measures, were dependent variables. The results showed that in both CFC-general and CFC-health, CFC-I and CFC-F are distinct dimensions that differentially explain variance in health behaviors. A domain-specific CFC-health explained a significantly higher amount of variance in self-reported eating and exercising behaviors than a general CFC. Self-evaluated health behaviors were better explained by CFC than self-reported behavioral frequencies. Practical implications of the findings and avenues for future research are discussed.

The Adolescent and Adult Time Inventory-Time Attitudes Scale: A Comprehensive Review and Meta-Analysis of Psychometric Studies

The exponential growth in studies demonstrating the utility of temporal psychology has been accompanied by many studies criticizing the psychometric properties of many of its assessment measures. The Adolescent (and Adult) Time Inventory-Time Attitudes Scale (AATI-TA) has been relatively immune to these criticisms. Given the increase in the use of this particular measure, we undertook a comprehensive review of studies assessing the psychometric validity and internal consistency of the AATI-TA. Computerized searches were conducted in Scopus, PsycINFO, and EMBASE databases, with 19 manuscripts ultimately retained, and data from a total of 29 samples analyzed. Results revealed that at a broad level, these analyses supported both the psychometric validity, and internal consistency of AATI-TA scores, with some minor issues identified with the Future Negative dimension. Meta-regression analyses revealed some small-sized but significant effects for age, language, and location on RMSEA, alpha values, and mean scores. However, these did not survive the Benjamini-Hochberg correction. Observed heterogeneity among studies has implications for any future creation of scale norms. Future directions for research include an exploration of the readability and appropriateness of Future Negative items, temporal stability of scores, and more psychometric studies with adult samples.

Individual differences in functional food consumption: The role of time perspective and the Big Five personality traits

Prior research suggests inconsistent relationships between individuals' personality traits, time perspective, and specific behavior. In a large representative sample of Norwegian consumers (N = 810), we investigated the relationships between the Big Five personality traits, domain-specific consideration of future consequences (CFC), and consumption of functional foods. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized associations. Both CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate were positively related to the consumption of functional foods, whereas personality traits exerted no direct influence on consumption. Several significant associations between personality traits and CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate were found, and three of the five personality traits-Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism-exerted indirect effects on consumption frequency via CFC-Future. Results support an integrative and hierarchical understanding of how personality traits and time perspective interact in explaining variation in functional food consumption. The findings support the notion that (domain-specific) CFC is better conceptualized as two distinct-albeit related constructs-that are shaped, in part, by broader personality traits.

The limited roles of cognitive capabilities and future time perspective in contributing to positivity effects

When compared to younger adults, older adults tend to favor positive over negative information in attention and memory. This is known as the positivity effect. Although this is a robust phenomenon, there is still debate about how it relates to individual differences in cognitive capabilities and future time perspective (FTP). To address this, we investigated how measures of fluid cognitive capabilities and FTP related to positivity effects within the domains of episodic memory, visual attention, and autobiographical memory. Cognitive capabilities were assessed using the National Institute of Health Toolbox Cognition battery, and included assessments of executive function, working memory, episodic memory, and processing speed. FTP was assessed via the Carstensen and Lang (1996) scale. Within our final sample (N = 196), we replicated positivity effects in all three task domains, which were all driven by age differences in how people responded to negative (but not positive) information. However, there was limited evidence that the magnitude of these age-related reductions in negativity varied as a function of individual differences in older adults' cognitive capabilities or FTP. Furthermore, when FTP did emerge as a predictor, the pattern was not in line with expectations based upon socioemotional selectivity theory. Thus, the positivity effect may be less reliant on cognitive capabilities and self-reported FTP than is often assumed. Given that there was also very little consistency in the extent to which participants displayed positivity effects across the task domains, these results also raise the possibility that there may be multiple mechanisms underlying positivity effects.

Adolescent Interventions to Manage Self-Regulation in Type 1 Diabetes (AIMS-T1D): randomized control trial study protocol

BACKGROUND

Self-regulation (SR), or the capacity to control one's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in order to achieve a desired goal, shapes health outcomes through many pathways, including supporting adherence to medical treatment regimens. Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is one specific condition that requires SR to ensure adherence to daily treatment regimens that can be arduous and effortful (e.g., monitoring blood glucose). Adolescents, in particular, have poor adherence to T1D treatment regimens, yet it is essential that they assume increased responsibility for managing their T1D as they approach young adulthood. Adolescence is also a time of rapid changes in SR capacity and thus a compelling period for intervention. Promoting SR among adolescents with T1D may thus be a novel method to improve treatment regimen adherence. The current study tests a behavioral intervention to enhance SR among adolescents with T1D. SR and T1D medical regimen adherence will be examined as primary and secondary outcomes, respectively.

METHODS

We will use a randomized control trial design to test the impact of a behavioral intervention on three SR targets: Executive Functioning (EF), Emotion Regulation (ER), and Future Orientation (FO); and T1D medical regimen adherence. Adolescents with T1D (n = 94) will be recruited from pediatric endocrinology clinics and randomly assigned to treatment or control group. The behavioral intervention consists of working memory training (to enhance EF), biofeedback and relaxation training (to enhance ER), and episodic future thinking training (to enhance FO) across an 8-week period. SR and treatment regimen adherence will be assessed at pre- and post-test using multiple methods (behavioral tasks, diabetes device downloads, self- and parent-report). We will use an intent-to-treat framework using generalized linear mixed models to test our hypotheses that: 1) the treatment group will demonstrate greater improvements in SR than the control group, and 2) the treatment group will demonstrate better treatment regimen adherence outcomes than the control group.

DISCUSSION

If successful, SR-focused behavioral interventions could improve health outcomes among adolescents with T1D and have transdiagnostic implications across multiple chronic conditions requiring treatment regimen adherence.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03688919; registered September 28, 2018.

Future time perspective and affect in daily life across adulthood and old age: Findings from two micro-longitudinal studies

OBJECTIVE

Future time perspective (FTP) refers to individuals' perceptions of the future as either open-ended or limited. Despite well-documented individual differences in FTP across the adult life span, little is known about short-term variations of FTP within individuals and the within-person associations between FTP and affective experiences.

METHOD

Study 1 used data from a daily diary study over 10 days (N = 564) with a wide age range across the adult life span (M = 48.30). Study 2 used data from an ambulatory assessment study over 10 days (N = 136) obtained from healthy older adults (M = 70.45).

RESULTS

Findings suggest that 10% to 20% of the total variance in FTP was within-person and 29% to 62% of the total variance in affect was within-person. Multilevel modeling showed that occasions with a more open-ended FTP were occasions with more positive affect, energetic arousal, calmness, and positive valence, and less negative affect. Age moderated the within-person associations between FTP and positive and negative affect as well as energetic arousal, with weaker associations for older adults.

CONCLUSIONS

This research demonstrates the importance of looking at both within-person and between-person differences with respect to the associations between FTP and affective experiences in daily life.

Wanting or having to: The role of goal self-concordance in episodic future thinking

While it is established that goal processing is a central component of episodic future thinking, how personal goals shape future event representations is not fully understood. Here, we explored the influence of the source of motivation underlying goal pursuit. Personal goals differ in their degree of self-concordance, which depends on the primary motives underlying goal pursuit. We distinguished between self-concordant (what one wants to achieve) and non-self-concordant (what one has to achieve) goals. Participants were asked to imagine specific future events associated with each type of goals. We found that self-concordant future events have a privileged phenomenological status: they are associated with a stronger sense of "realness" and of pre-experiencing the future, are more integrated with autobiographical knowledge, and are characterized by more positive and intense emotions. Furthermore, psychological need satisfaction was a characteristic component of self-concordant future thoughts. Implications of these findings for motivation and goal pursuit are discussed.