Future time perspective: Factor structure, age pattern, and implications for psychological well-being and life satisfaction

Jia Wei Zhang; Ryan T Howell; Mathias Allemand; Andrew N Snell; Joseph A Januchowski; Oliver P John

doi:10.1111/jopy.12856

Future time perspective: Factor structure, age pattern, and implications for psychological well-being and life satisfaction

J Pers. 2024 Apr;92(2):636-648. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12856. Epub 2023 Jun 8.

Authors

Jia Wei Zhang¹, Ryan T Howell², Mathias Allemand³, Andrew N Snell¹, Joseph A Januchowski¹, Oliver P John⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
² Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.

PMID: 37288614
DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12856

Abstract

Objective: Emerging research challenges the one-factor model of the future time perspective (FTP) scale by demonstrating two- and three-factor models of the FTP scale.

Method: Three samples (i.e., Switzerland and the United States; N = 2022) explored the factor structure, age pattern differences, tested the link between FTP factors, psychological well-being, and life satisfaction, as well as age as a moderator.

Results: We distinguished FTP into opportunities, extension, and constraint factors that corroborated previous research. We did not find a replicable curvilinear age pattern difference on any of the FTP factors. The association between extension and life satisfaction was stronger among younger than older adults. Alternatively, the association between constraint and life satisfaction was stronger among younger than older adults in Samples A and C, and the pattern was reversed in Sample B. Lastly, the association between constraint and environmental mastery was stronger among older adults than younger adults in Sample B and the pattern was reversed in Sample C.

Conclusion: This variation in the perception of the future is different for people at different periods in life and has an important consequence for living life well, especially a focus on extension and lack of constraint.

Keywords: aging; factor structure; future time perspective; life satisfaction; well-being.

MeSH terms

Aged
Forecasting
Humans
Personal Satisfaction
Psychological Well-Being*
Time
Time Perception*
United States