The role of temporal distancing on the sense of meaning in life among individuals experiencing daily stressors

Abstract

Existing evidence has indicated that adopting a temporally distanced perspective can enhance the search for and presence of meaning in life. However, this effect may not hold among individuals facing highly stressful situations, as meaning–search might be considered dysfunctional in such contexts. Furthermore, prior research has not distinguished between near and distant perspectives when examining the impact of temporal distancing on meaning–search and meaning–presence. To address these gaps, this study utilized a prescreening stage (N = 972) to recruit participants dealing with unresolved stressors of moderate‐to‐high severity. A pre‐test and post‐test design was employed, with participants randomly assigned to either near‐future or distant‐future conditions. The results (n = 129) showed that temporal distancing manipulation increased meaning–presence scores across both conditions. Meaning–search scores were significantly lower at post‐test compared to pre‐test within the distant‐future condition but not within the near‐future condition. By examining the differential effects of near‐future versus distant‐future perspectives and recruiting individuals experiencing moderate‐to‐severe unresolved stressors, this study sheds light on how temporal distancing serves as a coping strategy, enabling individuals to maintain a relatively balanced sense of meaning in life when confronted with significant stressors.