Time Perspective in Late Adulthood: Aging Patterns in Past, Present and Future Dimensions, Deviations from Balance, and Associations with Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

We examined cross-sectional aging patterns for subscales of the Swedish version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory in a population-based sample of older adults (60–90 years; N = 447). Alternative methods to assess time perspective balance (DBTP, involving a single Future dimension; S-BTP; and DBTP-E, including in addition, Future Negative), were compared and their relations to subjective well-being (SWB) were examined. Significant negative age relations were observed for Past Negative and Future Negative with a clear age-related increase in Present Fatalistic, while Past Positive, Present Hedonistic, and Future Positive were relatively stable across age. A significant age-related increase in deviation from balance was observed across methods (Cohen’s ds 0.28–0.57), with the highest value for DBTP-E. Overall, S-BTP and DBTP-E were more strongly associated with SWB than DBTP (r = −0.40), with the highest value for DBTP-E (r = −0.53). Analyses of separate age groups (60–65 vs. 70–75 vs. 80–90 years) revealed a trend of weakened association with balance in old-old age, for S-BTP and DBTP-E in particular. This seemed to reflect the fact that negative views of the future are strongly related to SWB in young-old adults but diminish in importance in late senescence (80–90 years). Potential factors behind the observed patterns of results, including deficits in cognitive functioning and physical health to account for the age-related increase in present fatalism, and the potential role of a self-transcendent future time perspective for well-being in old-old age, are discussed.

Cognitive consequences of timeframe bias. On the link between working memory, cognitive switching, and time perspective

“…where o = observed and e = expected score; ePN = 1.95, ePP = 4.60, ePF = 1.50, ePH = 3.90, eF = 4.00, eFN = 1.8 (Rönnlund et al 2017). The outcome measure is the deviation from balanced time perspective (DBTP), where the lower the DBTP score the more balanced the TP profile.…”

Getting “Stuck” in the Future or the Past: Relationships between Dimensions of Time Perspective, Executive Functions, and Repetitive Negative Thinking in Anxiety

“…Research has for instance shown that individual differences in time perspective can predict reactions to traumatic events [9], and that time perspective, and particularly Past Negative, is associated with depression and neuroticism [10]. Recent time perspective research has also underlined the importance of Future Negative, which has been associated with maladaptive coping strategies in late adolescence [11] and negatively associated with well-being among older adults [12]. …”

Mindfulness Promotes a More Balanced Time Perspective: Correlational and Intervention-Based Evidence

“…Once crystallized, such temporal Bbiases^might be regarded as stable dispositions that increase vulnerability to mental ill health and maladaptive behaviors Boyd 1999, 2008). A corollary to this position is that there is an optimal, or balanced, time perspective (BTP) that promotes subjective wellbeing and mental health Boyd 1999, 2008), an idea that sparked much recent interest (e.g., Mooney et al 2017;Rönnlund et al 2017; for a review, see Stolarski et al 2015).…”

“…In an extended version of the ZTPI, the Swedish ZTPI (S-ZTPI; Carelli et al 2011), this aspect is taken into account by a separate Future Negative scale. Based on this rationale, Rönnlund et al (2017) suggested an alternative version of DBTP that also incorporates Future Negative. A direct comparison between DBTP with and without the inclusion of Future Negative indeed showed that inclusion of Future Negative within the DBTP operationalization was more strongly associated with well-being (Rönnlund et al 2017) and with perceived stress (Rönnlund et al 2018).…”