The Role of Future Time Perspective, Body Awareness, and Social Connectedness in the Relationship Between Self-efficacy and Resilience

Abstract

Defined as the successful adaptation to dynamic environments, resilience is considered a cornerstone of mental health. However, with the underpinnings of resilience not yet fully understood, this manuscript tests the potential contribution of self-efficacy and embeddedness on resilience (explored through validated measures of future time perspective, body awareness, and social connectedness). The convenience sample of 18-to-77-year-old adults included 297 individuals, of which 36 were men and 171 were female. Participants completed online surveys composed of fifty-two questions in total, measuring self-efficacy, resilience, social connectedness, FTP, and body awareness. Resilience was positively related to self-efficacy, future time perspective, and social connectedness—but not to body awareness—and self-efficacy was positively associated with indices of embeddedness. Considering these correlations, and that only self-efficacy significantly predicted resilience, an exploratory model was proposed to test whether embeddedness directly predicted self-efficacy, and whether self-efficacy directly predicted resilience. Structural Equation Modelling suggested a good fit of this model, elucidating the interplay of psychological mechanisms underlying resilience. Thus, we identify potential variables of interest for clinical interventions aimed at increasing resilience and self-efficacy. Theoretical implications and future research are suggested based on these findings.

Positive Psychology in Times of Pandemic—Time Perspective as a Moderator of the Relationship between Resilience and Meaning in Life

“…In contrast, Present Hedonistic and Future time perspectives were positively related to resilience. These outcomes are in line with previous findings confirming the existence of, among other things, a negative correlation between PN and resilience [10] and a positive relationship between resilience and FTP [11]. Our findings are also supported by previous outcomes which indicated Past Negative and Present Fatalistic perspectives as predictors of maladaptive functioning.…”

“…Individuals with a high level of FTP display a low level of ego-undercontrol, impulsive behavior, and sensation seeking. For example, FTP was positively correlated with resilience [11] and health responsibility [54]. Boyd and Zimbardo [58] claim that there should be a healthy balance between past, present, and future orientations.…”

“…Some researchers indicate that temporal references are activated during the coping process, such as consideration of past time [8] or present time [9]. Additionally, previous research showed that temporal orientation is linked to resilience [10,11] and some factors defining resilience [1], such as optimism [12], coping [13], or sense of humor [14]. Previous studies also found a relationship between time perspective and meaning in life [15,16].…”

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

“… Chittaro and Vianello (2013) reported that the past-negative time perspective and the present-fatalistic time perspective were associated with problematic online behaviors. More recently, O'Neill et al (2020) found that FTP was related with individual psychological resilience, which was viewed as the core component of mental health, and Sobol et al (2020) observed that optimistic attitudes that involve present orientation or future orientation are conducive to compliance with public health regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Improving University Students' Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From an Online Counseling Intervention in Italy

“…Several studies demonstrated that time perspective is an important psychological variable associated with many areas of human functioning (i.e., well-being, health behaviors, risky behaviors) ( 92 – 94 ). More recently, O'Neill et al ( 95 ) also found that FTP is related with psychological resilience, intended as a core component of mental health. Particularly for young adults, planning for the future represents an important developmental task that becomes fundamental in order to orient and guide the students in their career decision-making ( 96 – 98 ).…”