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The Effect of Time Perspective on Public, Environmental and Occupational Health

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 December 2022) | Viewed by 20115

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Dr. Marco Fabbri

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Department of Psychology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Viale Ellittico 31, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Interests: circadian rhythms; sleep; time perception
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Dear Colleagues,

The time perspective (TP) refers to how individuals subjectively evaluate and focus on the past, the present, and the future (e.g., Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999). The TP, and specifically a balanced TP (BTP), has been widely associated with a range of important outcomes across a variety of life domains. Studies utilizing different theoretical perspectives have demonstrated that individual differences in the time perspective are associated with a variety of important outcomes, such as health-promoting behaviors and psychological distress, considering different age ranges (Baird et al., 2021). Additionally, psychological TP has important effects on work experience and behavior at work (Navarro et al., 2015). In addition, TP has been recently associated with community adaptation, for example, to climate change (e.g., Terblanche-Greeff et al., 2018). The actions of members in a community are determined by collective cultural beliefs and sociocultural traits (e.g., TP), identifying risks and adapting behaviors. However, the question of how TP has such wide-reaching effects remains unknown, probably due to different theoretical TP adopted and TP measures. Papers explaining the effects of TP on public, environmental, or occupational health are invited for this Special Issue, especially those reporting experimental/empirical data with or without practical implication, review, and meta-analysis.

Dr. Marco Fabbri
Guest Editor

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Keywords

time perspective
public health
environmental health
occupational health
age
personality
life events
climatic changes
workplace
healthcare cost

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4557 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Examination of Multidimensional Time Perspective and Mental Health Outcomes

by Julia Moon, Rebecca J. Lieber, Ilke Bayazitli and Zena R. Mello

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(6), 4688; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064688 - 7 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1753

Abstract

We examined the associations between time perspective and mental health outcomes (N = 337; M_age = 22.74, SD_age = 5.59; 76% female). Time perspective included multiple dimensions (feelings, frequency, orientation, and relation) and time periods (past, present, and future). Mental health outcomes included depressive symptoms, anxiety, and rumination. To demonstrate the reliability of the time perspective scales, test–retest analyses were completed. Multivariate analyses showed that (a) positive feelings about time were associated with lower anxiety; (b) negative feelings about time were associated with greater anxiety; and (c) more frequent thoughts about the past were associated with greater depressive symptoms and anxiety. Associations remained when controlling for anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. Moreover, (a) positive feelings about time were associated with lower rumination; (b) negative feelings about time were associated with greater rumination; and (c) more frequent thoughts about the past were associated with greater rumination. Time perspective scales yielded scores that were moderate to high in test–retest reliability. Findings demonstrate the value of examining separate time perspective dimensions and time periods. Results highlight the role of time perspective in mental health interventions for adults. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Time Perspective on Public, Environmental and Occupational Health)

23 pages, 1071 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Time to Get Vaccinated? The Role of Time Perspective, Consideration of Future Consequences, Conspiracy Beliefs, Religious Faith, Gender, and Race on Intention to Vaccinate for COVID-19 in the United States

by Lening A. Olivera-Figueroa, Alexander Unger, Julie Papastamatelou and Philip G. Zimbardo

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3625; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043625 - 17 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2391

Abstract

The present study examined the predictability of Time Perspective (TP) tendencies (i.e., Past Positive, Past Negative, Present Hedonistic, Present Fatalistic, and Future), the Balanced Time Perspective (BTP) profile, the Consideration of Future Consequences—Immediate (CFC-I) factor, the Consideration of Future Consequences—Future (CFC-F) factor, conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 being a hoax, religious faith, gender, and race on COVID-19 vaccination intention as a dependent variable. Participants were recruited in the United States through the online platforms Prolific and Google Forms. The final sample was n = 232 (n = 99 male, n = 129 female, and n = 2 other, M_age = 31). Outcome measures included sociodemographic questions, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory—short version, the Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) ultra-short scale, the COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs questionnaire, and the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire—brief version. Regression analyses revealed that vaccination intention was reduced by gender identification as woman, identification as multiracial or from mixed origin, Past Positive, Deviation from a BTP profile, belief in COVID-19 as hoax, and religious faith. Conversely, intention to vaccinate against COVID-19 was increased by Past Negative, CFC-I, and CFC-F. These findings could be beneficial for knowledge transfer to behavioral interventions aimed to promote vaccination against COVID-19, health promotion campaigns, and the public health field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Time Perspective on Public, Environmental and Occupational Health)

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19 pages, 4173 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Change in Time Perception Following the Place of Pre-Existence Technique

by Andrea Pintimalli, Joseph Glicksohn, Fabio Marson, Tania Di Giuseppe and Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3509; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043509 - 16 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1931

Abstract

Time perception is closely related to spatial and bodily perception, yet little is known about how this interrelationship is impacted by meditation and biological sex. To examine this, we studied the effects of a stepwise application of three meditation techniques, from focused attention, to open monitoring to non-dual meditation, encompassed in the Place of Pre-Existence technique (PPEt) on the subjective perception of time, space and body using a pre–post research design. A total of 280 participants (mean age = 47.09 years; SD = 10.13; 127:153 males to females) completed the Subjective Time, Self, Space inventory before and after PPEt. Following PPEt, participants perceived time passing as slowing down, while time intensity, relaxation, ‘awareness of space’ and ‘awareness of body’ increased, suggesting heightened mindfulness to these constructs following the training. Awareness of space revealed to be modulated by biological sex and meditation expertise, with males showing a decrease of spatial awareness as a function of meditation expertise while females showed an opposite pattern. The speed and intensity of the experience of time both correlated with body and space awareness. In line with previous studies demonstrating a connection between relaxation and perception of time, a significant correlation was found between relaxation and the subjective experience of the intensity of time. The current results are discussed in the context of the embodied experience of time, and the Sphere Model of Consciousness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Time Perspective on Public, Environmental and Occupational Health)

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15 pages, 734 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Italian Validation of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory and Its Comparison with Three Time Perspective Inventories

by Monica Martoni, Marco Fabbri and Paolo Maria Russo

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2590; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032590 - 31 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2087

Abstract

The Zimbardo time perspective inventory (ZTPI) is the most well-known and widely used measure of time perspective. However, the assessment of the psychometric properties of the ZTPI reveals several problems, and various short versions have been proposed to overcome these problems. In a large Italian sample (N = 2295; 1326 women; age range 18–74 years), the present study aimed to test a short version of the ZTPI (ZTPI-16) defined by high frequency items (i.e., “good” items), reviewing the items composition of previous alternative short versions of the scale. Beyond the assessment of the factorial structure of this new short ZTPI, we compared the ZTPI-16 to the original ZTPI (ZTPI-56) and another already validated version of the ZTPI in the Italian context, such as Zimbardo’s Stanford time perspective inventory (ZTPI-22), the short version of the ZTPI (ZTPI-30), and the ZTPI-36 proposed analyzing the data from 24 countries. The results confirmed the psychometric problems of the ZTPI-56, whereas the ZTPI-16 reported adequate structural validity and reliability. Moderate-to-strong correlations between same temporal subscales in different ZTPI versions were also found. These data suggest that the review of the “good” items is a new direction in the development of ZTPI versions with good psychometric properties and comparable data among cultures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Time Perspective on Public, Environmental and Occupational Health)

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14 pages, 870 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Balanced Time Perspective and Burnout Syndrome in the Corporate World

by Olga Klamut, Lening A. Olivera-Figueroa and Simon Weissenberger

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 14466; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114466 - 4 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2363

Abstract

Burnout syndrome is officially classified in the International Classification of Diseases as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress. Each year it is having an increasingly negative impact on the mental and physical health of employees, as well as on health costs and business performance. With this study, we aim at verifying whether there is a greater propensity for burnout depending on an individual’s time perspective, based on the framework of Christina Maslach’s burnout syndrome theory (consisting of three burnout dimensions), and Phillip Zimbardo’s Time Perspective (consisting of five distinct temporal profiles). Within the time perspective construct, we focused on an indicator of temporal adaptation, referred to as a Balanced Time Perspective (BTP). We used the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory on a sample of 129 Polish corporate employees. We found that two dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion and feelings of personal achievement) were significantly correlated to a balanced time perspective, while the third (depersonalization) did not pose a significant correlation. This underlines the interrelationships between personality and burnout, which gives way to one possible solution towards the danger of burnout syndrome—balancing an individuals’ time perspective through measures such as Time Perspective Therapy. We believe that the awareness of one’s temporal profile gives way to supplement gaps in one time perspective, while deterring the excessive effects of another, resulting in a more balanced time perspective, greater mental health and protection from burnout syndrome. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Time Perspective on Public, Environmental and Occupational Health)

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12 pages, 748 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Leaving Past Adversities Behind: Gratitude Intervention Compensates for the Undesirable Effects of Past Time Perspectives on Negative Affect

by Bozena Burzynska-Tatjewska and Maciej Stolarski

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12964; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912964 - 10 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1715

Abstract

Both gratitude and savoring the moment are considered to be well-established “well-being boosters” (WBBs). Each of them has a salient temporal reference: Gratitude is past-related, whereas savoring the moment refers to the present. The temporal match–mismatch model posits that time perspectives (TPs) moderate the effects of WBBs on well-being if they refer to the same temporal frame (e.g., gratitude and Past-Positive). Our study tested whether TPs moderate the effects of two positive interventions on positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). The participants (N = 174 individuals, 73% women) completed measures of TPs, PA, and NA, followed by a brief intervention of gratitude (N = 86) or savoring (N = 88). Subsequently, they completed the PA/NA measures again. Both interventions significantly decreased NA but did not foster PA. The magnitude of the shift in NA in the gratitude condition depended on the levels of past TPs: Individuals high in Past-Negative and low in Past-Positive displayed greater baseline NA than their counterparts; however, the difference was leveled after the gratitude intervention. No interaction effects between the present TPs and the savoring intervention were observed. The results suggest that practicing gratitude may diminish the undesirable consequences of negative views of the past. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Time Perspective on Public, Environmental and Occupational Health)

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15 pages, 1266 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Insomnia, Time Perspective, and Personality Traits: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Non-Clinical Population

by Marco Fabbri, Alessia Beracci and Monica Martoni

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 11018; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191711018 - 3 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2306

Abstract

Insomnia disorder is considered a public health problem and additional studies should investigate predisposing and perpetuating factors. This study examined the relationship between Big Five personality traits, time perspective, and insomnia. In a cross-sectional study, 400 participants (227 women; age range 18–74 years) were administered the Big Five Inventory—10 items, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). A measure of chronotype was also included for control purposes. The results show that insomniacs reported lower scores for conscientiousness and extraversion, and for past-positive (PP) and future (F) perspectives, whereas they obtained higher scores for past-negative (PN) perspectives and deviation from a balanced time perspective. The correlations confirmed these findings, but negative correlations between present-hedonistic (PH) perspective and ISI score, and between emotional stability and ISI score, were also found. The mediation analyses showed that F played an indirect role in the relationship between consciousness and ISI score, PN had an indirect effect on the relationship between emotional stability and ISI or between extraversion and insomnia, and PH had an indirect effect on the relationship between extraversion and ISI score. The current outcomes shed light on the mechanisms which serve to mediate the relationship between insomnia and personality traits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Time Perspective on Public, Environmental and Occupational Health)

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12 pages, 689 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Differences in Time Perspectives Measured under the Dramatically Changing Socioeconomic Conditions during the Ukrainian Political Crises in 2014/2015

by Oksana Senyk, Volodymyr Abramov, Viktoriia Bedan, Alina Bunas, Marharyta Hrechkosii, Olena Lutsenko, Tetiana Mandzyk and Marc Wittmann

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(12), 7465; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127465 - 17 Jun 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2154

Abstract

The characteristics of the individual’s time perspective in relation to changes in social, economic, and political conditions are of major conceptual interest. We assessed the time orientations of 1588 Ukrainian students living in two different regions (western and south-eastern Ukraine) with the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) before (2010–2013) and during (2014–2016) the socioeconomic, political, and military crises which started in 2014, eight years before the war in 2022. We applied ANOVAs with the ZTPI dimensions as dependent variables and the period of testing (precrisis, postcrisis) as an independent variable for the two Ukrainian regions separately. The time perspectives of residents in the region most distant from the war zone (western), who positively assessed the change in the political situation around 2014, increased in the future time orientation and decreased in the present-fatalistic, past-positive, and 333 present-hedonistic time orientations. The time perspectives of residents in the regions closest to the war zone (southeastern) decreased in the future and increased in the past-negative and present-fatalistic time orientations, reflecting their negative judgments of the events. It is not the crisis itself, but the specific social, economic, and political factors and evaluations which define the time perspectives, which are flexible and adjust to changes during extreme life circumstances. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Time Perspective on Public, Environmental and Occupational Health)

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20 pages, 2316 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seeking Causality in the Links between Time Perspectives and Gratitude, Savoring the Moment and Prioritizing Positivity: Initial Empirical Test of Three Conceptual Models

by Bozena Burzynska-Tatjewska, Gerald Matthews and Maciej Stolarski

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(8), 4776; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084776 - 14 Apr 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2248

Abstract

We provide an initial empirical test of three conceptual models reflecting possible patterns of causality effects in the relationships between time perspective (TP), gratitude, savoring the moment, and prioritizing positivity (referred to as well-being boosters, WBBs), and mental well-being. The first one, trait-behavior model, states trait TPs increase the tendency to use specific WBBs in order to increase mental well-being. The second model, the accumulation model, proposes that a regular practice of particular WBBs fosters adaptive TPs which in turn impact well-being. The third model, the feedback loop, suggests that WBBs and positive TPs reciprocally strengthen one another and together contribute to higher mental well-being. Participants (N = 206; M_age = 30.90, SD = 8.39, 74% females) filled questionnaires measuring TPs, WBBs, and well-being twice, in a one-year interval. Using cross-lagged panel analyses we examined the direction of causation in the relationships among the variables. Past-Positive had a significant cross-lagged effect on gratitude, Present-Fatalistic had a significant effect on savoring. Both Past-Negative and Present-Fatalistic perspectives displayed significant causal effects on well-being. The results partly support the trait-behavior model. However, given that the second wave was conducted shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, further studies are required to better understand the interplay between the studied traits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Time Perspective on Public, Environmental and Occupational Health)

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