Serial Mediation Models of Future Anxiety and Italian Young Adults Psychological Distress: The Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Non-Pathological Worry.

Previous research has already examined the relationship between Future Anxiety, a construct recently introduced in Italy, and mental health in young adults, although possible mediating variables in this relationship have so far never been investigated. The present study attempts to fill this gap by exploring the incidence of Future Anxiety on psychological distress (i.e., Stress, Anxiety and Depression) in a group of 302 young Italian adults (18-30 years; M = 21.9; SD = 2.6; 49.0% males; 51.0% females), presenting and evaluating the simultaneous mediating effect of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Non-Pathological Worry. Findings highlighted how Future Anxiety had a positive and significant direct effect on Stress and Depression, but not on Anxiety. In the three serial mediation models proposed, Intolerance of Uncertainty and Non-Pathological Worry mediated the relationship between Future Anxiety and mental health outcomes. The results also confirmed the hypothesized serial mediation effect by highlighting how young adults with greater Future Anxiety experienced more Intolerance of Uncertainty, which positively affected Non-Pathological Worry levels and, in turn, exacerbated psychological distress. Finally, results indicated that female participants experienced more Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in relation to Future Anxiety compared to males. Starting from the review of main references on this subject, the results discussed provide new insights for understanding youth psychological distress. Finally, practical implications for the design of supportive interventions for this study's target group are proposed.

Psychometric properties of the Arabic translation of the Dark Future Scale questionnaire in a non-clinical sample of Arabic-speaking young adults.

BACKGROUND: Through the years, studying negative behaviors of the worldwide population seized the spotlight from many researchers who focused on building scales in order the measure the level of worries, fear and even depression of such stressed individuals. By definition, "Future anxiety" (FA) is fueled by negative thoughts leading to intense fear of unknown future events. The Dark Future scale (DFS) measures the level of anxiety experienced towards the future. Our aim was to examine the psychometric properties of a novel Arabic translation of the DFS. METHODS: A sample of 684 Arabic-speaking young adults (65.6% women) filled the DFS, TEMPS-M (temperaments) and DASS-8 (psychological distress). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) supported a unidimensional model of the DFS score, with all 5 items retained. This scale had good reliability. Moreover, concurrent validity demonstrated significant associations between DFS scores and psychological distress, depressive, cyclothymic, irritable and anxious temperament. Scores achieved scalar invariance across gender, with women having greater exposure to anxiety about the future. CONCLUSION: Overall, these findings led to the conclusion that the Arabic DFS is a psychometrically valid tool for the assessment of FA. The DFS is a brief, reliable and easy to apply scale that would help researchers in psychology and psychiatry in assessing anxiety about future.

Reliability and Validity of a Turkish Version of the 5-Item Future Anxiety Scale.

Objective: The aim of this study was to adapt the short version of the Future Anxiety (FA) Scale (FAS) into Turkish and to assess its validity and reliability. Methods: This study comprised 3 stages. The first stage of the study assessed the scale's linguistic validity. The second stage assessed the scale's factor structure, criterion validity, and reliability. The third stage assessed the scale's structural validity, and cross-checked its validity and reliability. In addition, a test-retest was conducted with a 2-week interval to assess the reliability of the scale. Results: The FAS adapted into Turkish has a 5-item and 1-factor structure, consistent with the short version of the FAS. The Turkish version of the FAS was found to be a valid and reliable measurement tool. Conclusion: The 5-item version of the FAS was translated and adapted into Turkish. The Turkish version of the FAS will be useful for Turkish researchers who want to conduct quantitative research on FA.

How Is the Fear of War Impacting Italian Young Adults' Mental Health? The Mediating Role of Future Anxiety and Intolerance of Uncertainty.

The Russian-Ukrainian conflict is affecting mental health even in communities that are not directly involved in the war; added to this is the escalating conflict in the Middle East and its dangerous spread, which brings the war back to the center of the contemporary social and economic horizon. The present study aims to explore the psychological impact of war in a sample of 310 Italian young adults (18-30 years; M = 22.0; SD = 2.6) while exploring the relationship between Fear of War and psychological distress and evaluating the mediating effects of Future Anxiety and Intolerance of Uncertainty in this relation. Findings highlighted how Fear of War positively and significantly affects Stress, Anxiety, and Depression, and, at the same time, how it fuels both Future Anxiety and Intolerance of Uncertainty. These constructs, in addition to positively affecting the mental health outcomes considered, mediate the relationship between Fear of War and youth psychological distress with a significant indirect effect observed in all three mediation models performed. Finally, significantly higher levels of psychological distress, Fear of War, and Future Anxiety are reported in women than in men. The findings are discussed with reference to the recent literature on the psychological impact of war and on contemporary youth psychological distress, indicating the importance of educational policies and targeted interventions aimed at supporting this target in coping with multiple contemporary collective stressors.

Future Anxiety in Young Spanish Adults: Psychometric Properties of the Dark Future Scale / Ansiedad Futura en Adultos Jóvenes Españoles: Propiedades Psicométricas de la Dark Future Scale

Background/Objective: The Dark Future Scale (DFS) is a self-report instrument which assesses the tendency to think about the future with anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. Although it has been applied in different populations, instrumental studies are scarce, and there is no validated Spanish version. The aim was therefore to develop a Spanish version of the scale (DFS-S) and to analyze its psychometric properties in a sample of young adults. Method: Participants were 1,019 individuals aged from 18 to 24 years. They completed the DFS-S and the IPIP-BFM-20. Validity evidence based on the internal structure, including measurement invariance across gender, as well as on relationships with personality traits was obtained. Reliability and gender differences in DFS-S scores were also examined. Results: Results supported a single-factor structure, χ2(5) = 10.79, CFI = .999, RMSEA = .034, SRMR = .016, that was invariant across gender. Reliability of test scores was satisfactory (ω = .92). In the correlation analysis, future anxiety showed a strong positive correlation with neuroticism (.42) and a moderate negative correlation with extraversion (-.25). Females scored higher than males on future anxiety. Conclusions: The DFS-S has satisfactory psychometric properties and it is an adequate tool for measuring future anxiety among young adults.(AU)

Antecedentes/Objetivo: La Dark Future Scale (DFS) evalúa la ten-dencia a pensar en el futuro con ansiedad, miedo e incertidumbre. Aunque ha sido usadaen diferentes poblaciones, los estudios instrumentales son es-casos y no hay una versión adaptada al español. El objetivo del estudio fue adaptarla al español (DFS-S) y analizar sus propiedades psicométricas en una muestra de adultos jóvenes. Método:Participaron 1.019 jóvenes entre 18 y 24 años. Completaron la DFS-S y el IPIP-BFM-20. Se analizan evidencias de validez basadas en la estructura interna, incluyendo la invarianza de me-dida según el género, y basadas en las relaciones con rasgos de personali-dad, así como análisis de la fiabilidad y de las diferencias de género. Resulta-dos:Los resultados apoyaron una estructura de un solo factor, χ2(5) = 10.79, CFI = .999, RMSEA = .034, SRMR = .016, con invarianza respecto al gé-nero, y con coeficiente de fiabilidad satisfactorio (ω= .92). Se encontró co-rrelación positiva fuerte entre ansiedad futura y neuroticismo (.42) y una correlación negativa moderada con extraversión (-.25). Las puntuaciones en ansiedad futura fueron mayores en las mujeres. Conclusiones:Los resultados muestran propiedades psicométricas satisfactorias delaDFS-S, siendo un instrumento adecuado para medir la ansiedad futura en adultos jóvenes.(AU)

The moderating effect of psychological distress in the association between temperaments and dark future among young adults.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current study is to evaluate the moderating effect of psychological distress variables, depression, anxiety and stress on the relationship between affective temperaments and future anxiety, assessed with the Dark Future scale. METHODS: Lebanese adults from all districts/governorates of Lebanon participated in this cross-sectional study. The data was collected through a questionnaire including: a section about sociodemographic characteristics, the Dark Future scale (DFS), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-8) and the Affective Temperament Scale (TEMPS-M). RESULTS: The interaction irritable temperament by psychological distress (p = .007) was significantly associated with dark future; at low levels of psychological distress, more irritable temperament (Beta = 0.16) was significantly associated with more dark future. The interaction anxious temperament by psychological distress (p = .010) was significantly associated with dark future; at low (Beta = 0.34), moderate (Beta = 0.25) and high (Beta = 0.15) levels of psychological distress, more anxious temperament was significantly associated with more dark future. CONCLUSION: The nature of the associations among depression, anxiety and stress, specific temperaments and anxiety towards the future in a sample of Lebanese individuals was clarified. This is especially significant as Lebanese people live in circumstances that promote psychological distress and future anxiety such as dramatic economic and political crises, instability and lack of security in different aspects of life.

What predicts the alleviation of Covid-related future anxiety in schoolchildren 6 to 9 months into the pandemic?

Introduction: Although the first COVID-19-related lockdown in the Spring of 2020 has contributed to an increase in mental health problems in many children worldwide, less is known about the longer-term effects of the pandemic on their (future) anxiety. This article examines resilience factors against children's Covid-relatedfut ure anxiety (CRFA). Methods: N = 140 children (48,6% female) in 3rd and 4th grade classrooms in Northern Germany were asked to self-report about their CRFA, their anxiety, and the social climate in their classrooms in September (T1) and December 2020 (T2). Results: Results indicate that 18.6% of the children experienced CRFA "often" in at least one item of the CRFA scale at T1. CRFA was more pronounced in girls and in children from immigrant families. Changes in children's CRFA between T1 and T2 were predicted by changes in their anxiety and changes in classroom climate. Children in classrooms with increasing levels of peer support tended to have decreasing levels of CRFA, whereas their agemates' CRFA in less supportive classrooms tended to increase over time. Discussion: These results suggest that peer and teacher social support may bolster children's resilience against future anxiety in challenging times. Implications for teachers and schools are discussed.

Smartphone Addiction Among University Students' During the Post-COVID-19 Era: The Role of Emotional Intelligence and Future Anxiety.

OBJECTIVE: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-related psychological symptoms can lead to smartphone addiction (SPA) risk and other behavioral disorders, thus impacting individuals' mental health and well-being. The present study aims to propose a mediation model to investigate the association between emotional intelligence (EI) and SPA, and the mediating role of future anxiety (FA) during the post-COVID-19 era. METHODS: An online questionnaire including the Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Dark Future Scale, and the Smartphone Addiction Scale among university students from China, was conducted between September 14 and November 22, 2022. Finally, 1,154 valid questionnaires were collected. The reliability and confirmatory factor analysis results showed that all three scales had good reliability and validity. RESULTS: Structural Equation Model demonstrated that EI significantly and negatively influenced SPA (ß=0.211, p<0.001), university students' FA significantly and positively effected SPA (ß=0.315, p<0.001), EI significantly predicted SPA in university students, and FA partially mediated the association between EI and SPA. The mediation effect of FA was 0.110, which accounted for 34.27% of the total effect. Bootstrap results furthermore tested the rigor of the mediating effect. CONCLUSION: These findings broaden our understanding regarding the relationship between EI and SPA and the mediating role of FA, providing new sights for educators on how to reduce the risk of SPA when confronting the ongoing and possible future pandemics.

COVID-19 lockdown stress and problematic social networking sites use among quarantined college students in China: A chain mediation model based on the stressor-strain-outcome framework.

The COVID-19 pandemic has coincided with a global increase in problematic social networking sites use (PSNSU). By drawing on transactional stress theory and applying the stressor-strain-outcome (SSO) framework, we proposed and verified a chain mediation model to explore the mediating roles of fear of missing out (FoMO) and future anxiety (FA) in the relationship between COVID-19 lockdown stress (CL stress) and PSNSU. Our sample of 670 quarantined college students in China responded to a COVID-19 student stress questionnaire, a social network addiction scale, a fear of missing out scale, and a dark future scale. The results revealed that (1) CL stress significantly positively predicted PSNSU, (2) both FoMO and FA mediated the relationship between CL stress and PSNSU, (3) FoMO significantly positively predicted FA, and (4) a full chain mediation was observed between CL stress and PSNSU.

[School Children's COVID-Related Future Anxiety over the Course of 8Months of the Pandemic]. / Coronabezogene Zukunftsangst bei Grundschulkindern im Verlauf von 8 Monaten der Pandemie.

To explore the long-term effects of the COVID-19-pandemic on children, N = 140 8- to 10- year-olds were asked about their COVID-related future anxiety (CRFA) in their classrooms during months 6, 9, and 14 of the pandemic which started inMarch 2020 in Germany. Future anxiety was defined as a "state of apprehension, uncertainty, fear, worry, or anxiety about unfavorable changes in a more distant personal future" which was related to the effects of the COVID- 19-pandemic. In this survey, 13%to 19%of children reported experiencing CRFA "often" on at least one of the four items of the newly developed CRFA scale. Experiencing CRFA "often" was reported by 16% of the children at two and by 8 % of the children at three measurement points, among them more girls and more children from homes with poor educational backgrounds. Analyses uncovered large interindividual differences: For 45 % of the children CRFA decreased between months 6 and 9 of the pandemic, whereas for 43 % it increased. Children of parents with low educational backgrounds weremore likely to report frequent CRFA at all three measurement time points, even after controlling for gender and incidence of COVID-19-in Germany.This confirms predictions that contagion risk and controllability influence future anxiety. The descriptive results additionally support earlier findings that many children already experience future anxiety about macro-level events. The results on chronic CRFA underscore the urgency to examine the long-time effects of CRFA with greater care.This is of paramount importance considering the macro-level challenges of the future.

Fear of COVID-19, Resilience, and Future Anxiety: Psychometric Properties of the Turkish Version of the Dark Future Scale.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many disruptions to individuals' everyday lives and caused wide-ranging, drastic effects on their well-being, mental health, and physical health. This study sought to validate the Dark Future Scale (DFS) and examine its reliability and validity in Turkish. The present study also examined the relationship between fear of COVID-19, dark future anxiety, and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Four hundred and eighty-nine Turkish athletes (mean age = 23.08 ± 6.64) completed measures on fear, anxiety, resilience, and demographic information. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the DFS had a one-factor solution with good reliability. Fear of COVID-19 significantly predicted resilience and future anxiety. Furthermore, resilience significantly predicted anxiety and mediated the effect of fear of COVID-19 on future anxiety. The findings have important implications for improving mental health and developing the resiliency of athletes during public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Covid-Related Stress in the Financial, Relational and Health Domains. Which Longitudinal Effects on Present and Future Perception?

While pre-covid literature about stress has indicated the importance of studying domain-specific stress, studies conducted during the pandemic have investigated covid-related stress as a monodimensional construct. The current study aimed to assess the impact that covid-related stress in three domains (financial, relational, health) had on individuals' psychological well-being and future anxiety. Furthermore, we aimed to assess whether the relationship among variables changed during the different phases of the pandemic as well as whether age moderated those relationships. Data were collected from 4185 Italian participants (55.4% female) aged 18-90 years (M = 46.10; SD = 13.47) at three waves: April 2020 (time 1), July 2020 (time 2), May 2021 (time 3). A cross-lagged panel model was run in Mplus. Results indicated that the financial domain is the life domain within which people are most worried during the pandemic, as it had the strongest impact on both psychological well-being and future anxiety. Having high levels of psychological well-being at time t served as a protective factor, as it was negatively related to any kinds of stress as well as to future anxiety at time t+1. These relationships among variables were stable over the course of the pandemic. Finally, we found significant age differences in the mean level for all variables under investigation, where young adults were the group with the highest level of stress and future anxiety as well as the lowest level of psychological well-being. Despite these differences in the variables' level, the relationships between variables were invariant across age groups. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Psychometric Properties of the Turkish Version of the Dark Future Scale.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Dark Future Scale that measures future anxiety. Methods: The sample consisted of 478 university students aged 18-25 and used convenience sampling. They completed an online survey about sociodemographics, tobacco use, and life satisfaction, Dark Future Scale and Trait Anxiety Inventory-2 Trait Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach alpha values were used to test scale's structural validity and reliability. For convergent validity, we correlated the Turkish version of the Dark Future Scale with trait anxiety and examined the mean differences in smoking status and its association with life satisfaction. Results: Majority of the participants were female (73.6%), with a mean age of 21.5 (SD = 1.67). Majority (53.6%) were regular tobacco users. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis revealed a 1-factor solution to be most optimal (χ 2 = 17.091, df = 4, P = .002, χ2/df = 4.3, and root-mean-square error = 0.083, comparative fit index = 0.988, general fit index = 0.986, The Adjusted Goodness of Fit (AGFI) = 0.986, normalized fit index = 0.985). The alpha value for the scale reliability was 0.86. Turkish version of the Dark Future Scale was also significantly and positively correlated with trait anxiety (r(478) = .67, P <.01). Exploration of the association between smoking status and Turkish version of the Dark Future Scale showed that the mean score was significantly higher among smokers (M = 19.1, SD = 6.65) than nonsmokers (M = 17.7, SD = 7.69). Lastly, higher future anxiety was associated with lower life satisfaction (r(478) = -0.42, P < .01). Conclusion: Turkish version of the Dark Future Scale is a reliable and valid scale to measure future anxiety. A brief and easy to apply, reliable, and valid future anxiety measure may be useful for many researchers in psychology and psychiatry.

Why people were less compliant with public health regulations during the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak: The role of trust in governmental organizations, future anxiety, fatigue, and Covid-19 risk perception.

Trust in governmental organizations is a crucial factor in terms of encouraging people to conform to public health regulations, such as those recommended to slow down the spread of SARS-CoV-2. However, trust in governmental organizations tends to decline over time, reducing the compliance with public health regulations. This study aimed at exploring, first, the role of future anxiety and fatigue as serial mediators of the relationship between trust in governmental organizations and protective behaviors, and, secondly, the role of Covid-19 risk perception as a moderator between fatigue and protective behaviors. A total of 948 Italian participants (302 males and 646 females), ranged from 18 to 80 years (M = 27.20, SD = 11.01), answered an online survey during the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak. A moderated serial mediation model was performed using a structural equation modeling. The results indicate that: (1) a higher trust in Italian governmental organizations was associated with a greater compliance in terms of adopting protective behaviors; (2) a lower trust in Italian governmental organizations increased anxiety about the future which, in turn, raised levels of fatigue, leading, finally, to a reduction in the levels of protective behaviors; and (3) as the perceived risk related to Covid-19 increased, the effect of fatigue on protective behaviors decreased. The findings of the current study may provide indications for public health policy on how to increase compliance with the recommended behaviors to be adopted in order to decrease the spread of the SARS-CoV-2.

University students' experience of the Beirut port explosion: associations with subjective well-being and subjective symptoms of mental strain.

BACKGROUND: On 4 August 2020, an explosion shook Beirut, killing more than 200 people and leaving thousands injured or homeless. AIMS: This study examined mental health of university students through a cross-sectional online survey between December 2020 and January 2021. METHODS: The questionnaire consisted of the WHO-5, sense of coherence (SoC), future anxiety, self-developed subjective symptoms of mental strain (SSMS), and items assessing proximity to explosion, extent of injury and house damage. Gender, study level and social status were used as sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Of 1042 participants, 30.8% were at 0-7 km from explosion; 38.1% reported physical injuries; and 12.4% saw their home damaged. Two third (60.3%) reported ≥3 SSMS, and 73.4% reported low well-being. Students with low well-being were more often female and master students (p < 0.001). Females were more often affected by ≥3 SSMS (p < 0.001). Regression analysis with low well-being as dependent variable revealed significant associations with study level (OR: 2.30-2.94), future anxiety (OR: 2.72-4.34) and SoC (OR: 1.81-5.61). For ≥3 SSMS, females (OR: 3.09), moderate/very close distance (OR: 2.13-4.98), injury/death of family member or friend (OR: 2.07-2.06), house damage (OR: 1.72) future anxiety (OR: 1.97-3.11) and SoC (1.79-2.88) were significant predictors. DISCUSSION: Preventive mental health strategies that strengthen SoC and outlook on future could protect against SSMS and low well-being following major trauma.

Association of Digital Health Literacy with Future Anxiety as Mediated by Information Satisfaction and Fear of COVID-19: A Pathway Analysis among Taiwanese Students.

Digital Health Literacy (DHL) helps online users with navigating the infodemic and co-existing conspiracy beliefs to avoid mental distress and maintain well-being. We aimed to investigate the association between DHL and future anxiety (FA); and examine the potential mediation roles of information satisfaction and fear of COVID-19 (F-CoV). A web-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among 1631 Taiwanese university students aged 18 years and above from June 2021 to March 2022. Data collected were socio-demographic characteristics (sex, age, social status, university location), information satisfaction, F-CoV, DHL and FA (using Future Dark scale). The linear regression model was used to explore factors associated with FA. The pathway analysis was further used to evaluate the direct and indirect relationship between DHL and FA. A higher score of DHL (B = -0.21; 95% CI, -0.37, -0.06; p = 0.006), and information satisfaction (B = -0.16; 95% CI, -0.24, -0.08; p < 0.001) were associated with a lower FA score, whereas a higher F-CoV score was associated with a higher FA score (B = 0.43; 95% CI, 0.36, 0.50; p < 0.001). DHL showed the direct impact (B = -0.1; 95% CI, -0.17, -0.04; p = 0.002) and indirect impact on FA as mediated by information satisfaction (B = -0.04; 95% CI, -0.06, -0.01; p = 0.002) and F-CoV (B = -0.06, 95% CI, -0.08, -0.04; p < 0.001). Strategic approaches to promote DHL, information satisfaction, lower F-CoV are suggested to reduce FA among students.

COVID-19-related future anxiety is associated with the health-related quality of life in school-aged children and adolescents-A cross-sectional study.

Background: Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, previous studies have shown that the physical as well as the mental health of children and adolescents significantly deteriorated. Future anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associations with quality of life has not previously been examined in school children. Methods: As part of a cross-sectional web-based survey at schools in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, two years after the outbreak of the pandemic, school children were asked about COVID-19-related future anxiety using the German epidemic-related Dark Future Scale for children (eDFS-K). Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed using the self-reported KIDSCREEN-10. The eDFS-K was psychometrically analyzed (internal consistency and confirmatory factor analysis) and thereafter examined as a predictor of HRQoL in a general linear regression model. Results: A total of N = 840 8-18-year-old children and adolescents were included in the analysis. The eDFS-K demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.77), and the confirmatory factor analysis further supported the one-factor structure of the four-item scale with an acceptable model fit. Over 43% of students were found to have low HRQoL. In addition, 47% of the students sometimes to often reported COVID-19-related fears about the future. Children with COVID-19-related future anxiety had significantly lower HRQoL (B = - 0.94, p < 0.001). Other predictors of lower HRQoL were older age (B = - 0.63, p < 0.001), and female (B = - 3.12, p < 0.001) and diverse (B = - 6.82, p < 0.001) gender. Conclusion: Two years after the outbreak of the pandemic, school-aged children continue to exhibit low HRQoL, which is further exacerbated in the presence of COVID-19-related future anxiety. Intervention programs with an increased focus on mental health also addressing future anxiety should be provided.

COVID-19 Victimization Experience and College Students' Mobile Phone Addiction: A Moderated Mediation Effect of Future Anxiety and Mindfulness.

This study proposed a moderated mediation model to investigate the association between COVID-19 victimization experience and mobile phone addiction, the mediating role of future anxiety, and the moderating role of mindfulness. This study employed the COVID-19 victimization experience scale, the mobile phone addiction scale, a future anxiety scale, and a mindfulness scale in a survey study among Chinese college students; 840 valid questionnaires were received. The reliability and confirmatory factor analysis results showed that all four scales had good reliability and validity. Bootstrap results demonstrated that COVID-19 victimization experience significantly predicted mobile phone addiction in college students (B = 0.202, LLCI = 0.136, ULCI = 0.268). Future anxiety fully mediated the association between COVID-19 victimization experience and mobile phone addiction (B = 0.178, LLCI = 0.136, ULCI = 0.222). Mindfulness moderated the effect of COVID-19 victimization experience on the college students' future anxiety (B = 0.159, LLCI = 0.007, ULCI = 0.054). A higher level of mindfulness was more likely than a lower level of mindfulness to attenuate the effect of COVID-19 victimization experience on the college students' future anxiety. These findings broaden our understanding regarding the association between COVID-19 victimization experience and mobile phone addiction and the moderating role of mindfulness.

The Relationship between Future Anxiety Due to COVID-19 and Vigilance: The Role of Message Fatigue and Autonomy Satisfaction.

How does future anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic relate to people's willingness to remain vigilant and adhere to preventive measures? We examined the mediating role of message fatigue and the moderating role of autonomy satisfaction in the relationship between future anxiety due to COVID-19 and willingness to remain vigilant. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with adults residing in the United States in June 2021 when numerous U.S. states re-opened following the CDC's relaxed guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals. Our data showed that message fatigue mediated the relationship between future anxiety due to the pandemic and willingness to remain vigilant. The data further revealed that autonomy satisfaction significantly moderated the mediation. Namely, the role of message fatigue in the indirect relationship between future anxiety and willingness to remain vigilant was significant only among people low to moderate in autonomy satisfaction; its role in the indirect path was not significant for those high in autonomy satisfaction. Notably, independent of the mechanism involving message fatigue, future anxiety was directly and positively associated with willingness to remain vigilant regardless of the levels of autonomy satisfaction. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of psychological and behavioral responses to the current pandemic and policy directions.

Time perspective, future anxiety, and hope for success in individuals awaiting bariatric surgery.

BACKGROUND: The paper focuses on the problems of temporal functioning of obese individuals and of individuals prepared for bariatric treatment. The experience of time heavily weighs on many areas of human functioning, everyday activity, planning and achieving goals, engaging in pro-health behaviours, and in consequence on the quality of life and on physical health. Contingent on numerous factors, obesity may be related to focusing on particular aspects of time perspective. The aim of the study was to determine the specificity of particular temporal dispositions in individuals prepared for bariatric surgery, and thus to devise suitable post-op psychological interventions. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: The study sample comprised 28 individuals (60.7% women, mean age M = 43.82 years, SD = 10.01, mean BMI M = 44.83 kg/m2, SD = 6.51) awaiting bariatric surgery. The data were collected individually with the following pen-and-paper questionnaires: the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, the Dark Future Scale, and the Polish adaptation of Snyder's Adult Hope Scale, which is named the Hope for Success Questionnaire. RESULTS: The results showed the prevalence of present hedonistic time perspective in the obese. With regard to future anxiety or the hope for success, no significant deviations from the general population were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that this group is in need of temporal psychotherapy aimed at balancing the time perspective. The results may also be interpreted through the lens of contextual determinants connected with task orientation preceding the surgery.