Consideration of future consequences (CFC) serves as a buffer against aggression related to psychopathy

The Consideration of Future Consequences Scale Among Malaysian Young Adults: A Psychometric Evaluation

Background: The consideration of future consequences (CFC) determines the extent to which individuals consider the potential future outcomes of their current behavior. The significance of assessing the CFC scale’s validation in different contexts has been acknowledged by the previous studies. While the majority of the studies have been conducted in western countries, no study has been conducted in Malaysia. The aim of the current study was to validate a Malaysian version of the CFC scale among Malaysian young adults.

Methods: The methodological cross-sectional approach was adopted in this study. The study recruited 529 young adults (age range from 25 to 40) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria of the paper survey. Construct validity was assessed using content validity, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega, and average inter-item correlation (AIC) were used to assess the scale’s internal consistency. Also, composite reliability (CR) and maximal reliability (MaxR) were used to assess the construct reliability. Measurement invariance was tested across gender.

Results: The findings of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that the Malaysian version of the CFC scale has a two-factor structure (i.e., CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate) with 10-item explaining 61.682% of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the two-factor structure of the CFC scale with good construct validity. The internal consistency and CR were acceptable. [The Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega, and CR for CFC-I were 0.901 (CI 95%: 0.881–918), 0.901, and 0.887, respectively. Also, these parameters for CFC-F were 0.867 (CI 95%: 0.838–891), 0.868, and 0.867, respectively].

Conclusion: We found acceptable psychometric evidence for the 10-item two-factors CFC scale used in the context of young adults in Malaysia. The validated instrument can be used in future studies to assess young adults’ CFC tendency and CFC-related behavior in Malaysia.

Future time perspective and trust in government: The mediation of the consideration of future consequences

Evidence suggests that college students’ future-related feelings and cognition may influence their trust in government. This study aims to explore whether the association between college students’ future time perspective and trust in government is mediated through the consideration of future consequences (CFC). A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 1,617 college students (86.6% women) aged 17 to 31 years in China via an online questionnaire. The results showed that the students’ positive, negative and confused future orientation was positively associated with their trust in government. The consideration of far- future consequences positively mediated the relationship between a positive future orientation and trust in government. These findings support the possibility to evaluate college students’ government trust level according to their future orientation, which will improve their positive political participation.

A German Validation of Four Questionnaires Crucial to the Study of Time Perception: BPS, CFC-14, SAQ, and MQT

We aimed to validate four established questionnaires related to time perception in German (Consideration of Future Consequences-14 scale (CFC-14), Boredom Proneness Scale (BPS), Metacognitive Questionnaire on Time (MQT), and Self-Awareness Questionnaire (SAQ)) using a back-translation method. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted on the data of 273 German-speaking participants to evaluate the factorial structures. Internal consistencies indicated good reliability values of the questionnaires and the respective subscales, except for the MQT. Intercorrelations between the questionnaires were examined to test their external validities and gain additional insight into the associations among the constructs. The consideration of future consequences was negatively linked to boredom proneness, whereas interoceptive awareness of one's bodily sensations was positively associated with boredom proneness. Additionally, interoceptive awareness was linked to metacognitive beliefs about which factors influence time perception. The results are discussed in regard to human time perception. Conclusion: The validated German questionnaires can now be used in research projects. Initial observations on how the questionnaires are related to each other fit the current knowledge on how human time perception works, yielding the first evidence for the external validity of the German versions of these established questionnaires. For evidence of criterion validity, future studies should more thoroughly investigate the external validities analyzing the correlations with other validated measures.

The longitudinal relationship between angry rumination and reactive-proactive aggression and the moderation effect of consideration of future consequences-immediate

The idea that influential factors for two subtypes of aggression (reactive and proactive aggression) should be different is popular, but the common influential factors have not been examined. Such an examination could help understand the influential factors of aggression from the perspective of multiple motivations affecting the development of aggressive motivations over time. The present study argued that angry rumination would be a common influential factor for both reactive and proactive aggression. In addition, consideration of future consequences (CFC) may moderate the longitudinal effect of angry rumination on proactive aggression. Two studies were conducted to test these hypotheses. In Study 1, a cross-lagged analysis with a 6-month interval was employed. A total of 505 undergraduate students (46% males) completed the questionnaires twice. Results indicated that after a 6-month period, angry rumination predicted reactive aggression but not proactive aggression. Furthermore, reactive aggression predicted angry rumination over time. In Study 2, a moderation analysis was performed with another 437 participants (130 males). The results partly supported our hypotheses, indicating that CFC-immediate (CFC-I) moderated the longitudinal effect of angry rumination on proactive aggression. The present results extended prior research regarding the predictors of proactive and reactive aggression and may contribute to a greater understanding of the development of aggressive motivation. In addition, our research suggested that high CFC-I may be an important factor for the motivation change from reactive aggression to proactive aggression.