Interrelation between intolerance of uncertainty and the time perspective profile in the military.

BACKGROUND: Time perspective (TP) theory suggests that people tend to categorize their experience in terms of the past, the present, and the future. Studies have shown that a balanced TP profile supports well-being while misbalance in the TP profile is associated with various psychopathology. On the other hand, an intolerance of uncertainty (IU) underpins a variety of affective disorders. There are still a lot of questions about the relationship between IU and the TP. The purpose of this study was to clarify the interrelation between the time perspective distortion and intolerance of uncertainty level and to examine the degree to which IU and TP scales are associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms in a military sample. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: The sample of servicemen (N = 129) completed ZTPI, the IUS-12 and PCL-5 questionnaires. Correlational and regression analyses were conducted with IU scores, TP scales and DBTP and DBTP-r coefficients. RESULTS: IU total score correlates with Past Negative (PN), Present Hedonistic (PH), Present Fatalistic (PF), and Future (F) time perspectives in the military sample. Groups that differ in the level of IU have a significant difference in Past Negative TP. Regression analysis models using DBTP as well as DBTP-r coefficients showed similar results. Inhibitory IU, not Prospective IU, turned out to be a predictor of post-traumatic stress symptoms in this military, non-clinical sample. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies should determine directions of associations between intolerance of uncertainty and time perspective.

Morningness-Eveningness Preference, Time Perspective, and Passage of Time Judgments.

Recent studies have shown that making accurate passage of time judgments (POTJs) for long-time intervals is an important cognitive ability. Different temporal domains, such as circadian typology (biological time) and time perspective (psychological time), could have an effect on subjective POTJs, but few studies have investigated the reciprocal influences among these temporal domains. The present study is the first systematic attempt to fill this gap. A sample of 222 participants (53.20% females; 19-60 years) filled in the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory for the measurement of time perspective, the reduced version of the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ) for chronotypes, and an ad-hoc questionnaire assessing sleep habits during weekdays and the weekend (for social jetlag). The POTJ was measured using a modified version of a pictorial timeline presented at five different moments. Also, participants judged how different temporal expressions were related to the past, present, and future along a 7-point Likert scale. After confirming the association between eveningness and present-hedonism orientation and morningness and future-orientation, we found that evening-types produced higher scores for future expressions. The subjective POTJ expressed in minutes was predicted by Deviation from Balanced Time (DBTP), present-fatalism orientation, and social jetlag. Finally, the rMEQ score, past-positive orientation, and DBTP predicted the difference between subjective and objective POT. The results are discussed offering an explanation in terms of the interconnections between circadian typology, individual time perspective, and the sense of the POT, suggesting the multicomponent nature of the concept of time.

Time Perspective and Bedtime Procrastination: The Role of the Chronotype-Time Perspective Relationship.

INTRODUCTION: Bedtime procrastination (BP) has a close relationship with one's chronotype, from a biological perspective on time. However, it remains unknown whether there is an association between BP and psychological time. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between time perspective (TP) and BP and the effect of TP on the relationship between BP and chronotype by examining a sample of college students pre- and post-COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS: A total of 628 Chinese students (267 in pre-outbreak and 361 in post-outbreak) validly completed the Chinese version of the Bedtime Procrastination Scale, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), and the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire. RESULTS: Students with more BP behaviors exhibited greater deviation from a balanced TP, especially after the COVID-19 outbreak. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the past-negative and future orientations, as operationalized by the ZTPI, contributed independently to BP behaviors. The structural equation modeling analyses further demonstrated that morningness was significantly related to a more future-oriented TP, which in turn decreased BP in pre- and post-COVID-19 outbreak samples, while morningness was associated with a less past-negative-oriented TP, which in turn decreased BP only in the post-COVID-19 outbreak sample. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that TP in students with BP predominantly focused on future orientation and that TP can mediate the relationship between chronotype and BP behaviors. However, the COVID-19 pandemic may disrupt the time flow and change the role of chronotype-TP in BP. These findings explain how individual differences in TP are associated with BP, which may be helpful in designing effective interventions to avoid BP, from the viewpoint of time perspective therapy.

A time to be stressed? Time perspectives and cortisol dynamics among healthy adults.

Perceptions of past, present, and future events may be related to stress pathophysiology. We assessed whether Time Perspective (TP) is associated with cortisol dynamics among healthy adults (N=61, Ages=18-35, M=22.9, SD=4.1) exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). TP was measured according to two profiles: maladaptive Deviation from Balanced TP (DBTP) and adaptive Deviation from Negative TP (DNTP). Eight salivary cortisol samples were analyzed using area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) and to increase (AUCi). Statistic analyses involved partial correlations controlling for depressive symptoms. Results for both sexes showed that higher DBTP scores were associated with lower cortisol AUCg scores, while higher DNTP scores were associated with higher cortisol AUCg scores. These novel findings suggest that maladaptive TP profiles influence hypocortisolism, whereas adaptive TP profiles influence hypercortisolism. Thus, TP profiles may impact conditions characterized by altered cortisol concentrations.