Time perspective and socioeconomic status: A link to socioeconomic disparities in health?

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.04.004

Social Science & Medicine

Volume 68, Issue 12, June 2009, Pages 2145-2151

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.04.004 Get rights and content

Abstract

Time perspective is a measure of the degree to which one's thinking is motivated by considerations of the future, present, or past. Time perspective has been proposed as a potential mediator of socioeconomic disparities in health because it has been associated with health behaviors and is presumed to vary with socioeconomic status. In this cross-sectional community-based survey of respondents recruited from hair salons and barber shops in a suburb of Washington DC, we examined the association between time perspective and both education level and occupation. We asked participants (N = 525) to complete a questionnaire that included three subscales (future, present-fatalistic, and present-hedonistic) of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory. Participants with more formal education and those with professional occupations had higher scores on the future time perspective subscale, and lower scores on the present-fatalistic subscale, than participants with less formal education or a non-professional occupation. Present-fatalistic scores were also higher among participants whose parents had less formal education. Present-hedonistic scores were not associated with either education level or professional occupation. Time perspective scores were not independently associated with the likelihood of obesity, smoking, or exercise. In this community sample, future time perspective was associated with current socioeconomic status, and past-fatalistic time perspective was associated with both current and childhood socioeconomic status.

Section snippets

Participants

We performed a cross-sectional survey of patrons in 16 hair salons and barber shops in a demographically diverse suburb of Washington DC. We performed the survey in shops to reach a broad sample of the community in places where participants were comfortable and in familiar surroundings. Shops were identified from telephone directories and invited to participate by mail. Study personnel visited the shops that expressed an interest, and explained the study to owners and stylists. Shops were

Description of participants

Of 608 patrons invited to participate, 20 did not meet inclusion criteria and 57 declined (response rate 90.3%). Of the 531 who completed the questionnaire, 6 participants were excluded because of missing data on key SES variables or on two or more time perspective items, leaving 525 for analysis (Table 1). The mean educational level was fairly high, and representative of that of residents in the survey area (US Bureau of the Census, 2000). Thirty-one percent of participants completed 12 years

Discussion

Socioeconomic measures were the characteristics most strongly associated with time perspective in this study. As hypothesized, those with more formal education or professional occupations had responses indicating a more future orientation and a less fatalistic orientation than those with less formal education or nonprofessional occupations. The strongest association, between the present-fatalistic subscale and education level, would be considered as a moderate effect size. Neither socioeconomic

References (44)

A. Singh-Manoux et al.
Role of socialization in explaining social inequalities in health
Social Science & Medicine
(2005)
Z. Zaleski
Future anxiety: concept measurement and preliminary research
Personality and Individual Differences
(1996)
P.G. Zimbardo et al.
Present time perspective as a predictor of risky driving
Personality and Individual Differences
(1997)
J. Adams et al.
Time perspective, personality and smoking, body mass, and physical activity: an empirical study
British Journal of Health Psychology
(2008)
N.E. Adler et al.
Socioeconomic inequalities in health. No easy solution
Journal of the American Medical Association
(1993)
N.E. Adler et al.
Socioeconomic status and health: what we know and what we don't
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
(1999)
H. Bosma et al.
Social class in childhood and general health in adulthood: questionnaire study of contribution of psychological attributes
British Medical Journal
(1999)
J.N. Boyd et al.
Time perspective, health, and risk taking
C.M. Brown et al.
Ethnic differences in temporal orientation and its implications for hypertension management
Journal of Health and Social Behavior
(1996)
V. Corral-Verdugo et al.
Sustainable behavior and time perspective: present, past, and future orientations and their relationship with water conservation behavior
Interamerican Journal of Psychology
(2006)

M. D'Alessio et al.

Testing Zimbardo's Stanford Time Perspective Inventory (STPI) – short form. An Italian study

Time & Society

(2003)

E.S. Epel et al.

Escaping homelessness: the influences of self-efficacy and time perspective on coping with homelessness

Journal of Applied Social Psychology

(1999)

G.W. Evans et al.

Socioeconomic status and health: the potential role of environmental risk exposure

Annual Review of Public Health

(2002)

V.R. Fuchs

Time preference and health: an exploratory study

B. Galobardes et al.

Indicators of socioeconomic position (part 1)

Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health

(2006)

K. Heinonen et al.

Socioeconomic status in childhood and adulthood: associations with dispositional optimism and pessimism over a 21-year follow-up

Journal of Personality

(2006)

D.A. Hershey et al.

Psychological determinants of financial preparedness for retirement

The Gerontologist

(2000)

D.C. Hodgins et al.

Future time perspective in pathological gamblers

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease

(2002)

K.A. Keough et al.

Who's smoking, drinking, and using drugs? Time perspective as a predictor of substance use

Basic and Applied Social Psychology

(1999)

N. Krieger et al.

Adult female twins' recall of childhood social class and father's education: a validation study for public health research

American Journal of Epidemiology

(1998)

H. Lamm et al.

Sex and social class as determinants of future orientation (time perspective) in adolescents

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

(1976)

S.N. Lukwago et al.

Sociocultural correlates of breast cancer knowledge and screening in urban African American women

American Journal of Public Health

(2003)

Cited by (130)

Long-term trajectories of suicide ideation and its socioeconomic predictors: A longitudinal 8-year follow-up study
2023, Social Science and Medicine
Suicide ideation is the first stage of suicide behavior, and the long-term course of suicide ideation is highly variable. The aim of this study is to identify trajectories of suicide ideation over an 8-year period and explore the association of socioeconomic status (SES) with suicide ideation trajectories.
We included 10,017 participants from Waves 7–15 of the Korea Welfare Panel Study; these have data on suicidal ideation (2012–2020). Trajectories analysis was conducted to identify distinct trajectories of suicidal ideation. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associations of SES with suicidal ideation trajectories. The interaction effects between current SES and prospective economic condition on trajectories were examined using a synergy index (SI).
We identified three suicide ideation trajectory groups: low-stable, moderate-decreasing, and high-persistent. Individuals in both moderate-decreasing and high-persistent trajectories had poorer current SES and prospective economic conditions than low-stable trajectories. Interestingly, those reporting poorer prospective economic conditions had a greater risk of being in a high-persistent trajectory than being in a moderate-decreasing trajectory. Further, individuals with poorer current SES and prospective economic conditions were more likely to be in the high-persistent trajectory.
Our findings demonstrated three distinct trajectories of suicide ideation which provide useful information for specific preventive interventions that could be developed. Moreover, poor prospective economic condition is a significant predictor of the high-persistent suicide ideation trajectory. Supporting economic difficulties and helping make goals and plans to strengthen positive thinking would help attenuate suicidal ideation and prevent suicidal behavior.
Perceived Importance of the Benefits and Harms of Colorectal Cancer Screening: A Best-Worst Scaling Study
2023, Value in Health
To elicit the relative importance of the benefits and harms of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among potential screening participants in the Dutch population.
In a consensus meeting with 11 experts, risk reduction of CRC and CRC deaths (benefits) and complications from colonoscopy, stress of receiving positive fecal immunological test (FIT) results, as well as false-positive and false-negative FIT results (harms) were selected as determinant end points to consider during decision making. We conducted an online best-worst scaling survey among adults aged 55 to 75 years from the Dutch Health Care Consumer Panel of The Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research to elicit preference values for these outcomes. The preference values were estimated using conditional logit regression.
Of 265 participants, 234 (89%) had ever participated in CRC screening. Compared with the stress of receiving a positive FIT result, the outcome perceived most important was the risk of CRC death (odds ratio [OR] 4.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.9-5.1), followed by risk of CRC (OR 4.1; 95% CI 3.6-4.7), a false-negative FIT result (OR 3.1; 95% CI 2.7-3.5), colonoscopy complications (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4-1.8), and a false-positive FIT result (OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.3-1.6). The magnitude of these differences in perceived importance varied according to age, educational level, ethnic background, and whether the individual had previously participated in CRC screening.
Dutch men and women eligible for FIT-based CRC screening perceive the benefits of screening to be more important than the harms.
Time perspective affects daily time use and daily functioning in individuals with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: Results from the multicentric DiAPAson study
2023, Journal of Psychiatric Research
Time perspective (TP) influences various aspects of human life. We aimed to explore the associations between TP, daily time use, and levels of functioning among 620 patients (313 residential patients and 307 outpatients) with a diagnosis of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSD) recruited from 37 different centres in Italy. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Specific Levels of Functioning (SLOF) were used to assess psychiatric symptoms severity and levels of functioning. Daily time use was assessed using an ad hoc paper and pencil Time Use Survey. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) was used to assess TP. Deviation from Balanced Time Perspective (DBTP-r) was used as an indicator of temporal imbalance. Results showed that the amount of time spent on non-productive activities (NPA) was positively predicted by DBTP-r (Exp(β): 1.36; p .003), and negatively predicted by the Past-Positive (Exp(β): 0.80; p .022), Present-Hedonistic (Exp(β): 0.77; p .008), and Future (Exp(β): 0.78; p .012) subscales. DBTP-r significantly negatively predicted SLOF outcomes (p .002), and daily time use, in particular the amount of time spent in NPA and Productive Activities (PA), mediated their association. Results suggested that rehabilitative programs for individuals with SSD should consider fostering a balanced time perspective to reduce inactivity, increase physical activity, and promote healthy daily functioning and autonomy.
Rags to riches? Entrepreneurs' social classes, resourceful time allocation, and venture performance
2022, Journal of Business Venturing
Social classes shape entrepreneurial pursuits in that entrepreneurs from lower social class groups face more resource deficiencies compared to those from higher social class groups. In this study, we theorize that being resourceful with a particular resource—time—helps ventures run by lower-class entrepreneurs achieve better performance. However, we further argue that the extent to which entrepreneurs use time resourcefully is affected by the cognitive schemas stamped on them by their social class backgrounds. Our empirical analysis of 8663 Chinese private entrepreneurs between 2006 and 2010 lends robust support to these arguments. By revealing both material and cognitive constraints stemming from entrepreneurs' social classes, our study contributes to research on social classes and entrepreneurial resourcefulness and has important implications for understanding the persistence of inequality in entrepreneurship.
Time perspective scale: French validation of a brief measure of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI)
2022, Psychologie Francaise
La perspective temporelle permet d’orienter les comportements et de construire l’identité. L’objectif de cette étude consiste à valider une version courte de l’échelle ZTPI (Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999) en langue française, qui serait applicable à des adultes de tous âges. À partir de l’échelle longue (54 items) validée par Apostolidis et Fieulaine (2004), nous avons testé une version comprenant 15 items auprès de 466 individus âgés de 18 à 98 ans. L’analyse exploratoire a mis en évidence une structure factorielle en cinq dimensions (passé négatif, passé positif, présent hédoniste, présent fataliste, futur). Le modèle a été soumis à une étude confirmatoire, à l’issue de laquelle les indices d’adéquation sont satisfaisants. La consistance interne et la fidélité externe sont aussi vérifiées. La validité de l’échelle courte de la ZTPI est établie à partir de ses corrélations avec certaines variables sociodémographiques (âge, niveau d’éducation), cliniques (anxiété, dépression) et l’estime de soi.
Lewin (1951, p. 75) defined time perspective as the “totality of the individual's view of his psychological future and psychological past existing at a given time”. Indeed, time perspective is considered to guide behaviors and participate in the construction of personal identity. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) was constructed by Zimbardo and Boyd (1999) to measure the five dimensions of time perspective (Past-Negative, Past-Positive, Present-Hedonistic, Present-Fatalistic and Future scales) and contained fifty-six items. The ZTPI was validated in more than twenty countries, as well in France (Apostolidis and Fieulaine, 2004) and a short version (15-25 items) was also studied in numerous cultural settings like in USA, Australia and various European countries. Nevertheless, the short version of the ZTPI has never been validated in French. The aim of this study is to validate a brief French measure of the ZTPI (Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999) in order to apply it to adults of all ages. Based on the long ZTPI (fifty-four items) validated by Apostolidis and Fieulaine (2004), we tested a version containing fifteen items, the ZTPI-15, among 466 adults (18-98 years). The exploratory analysis revealed a factorial structure representing five factors comprising three items for each scale. The model was tested through a confirmatory factorial analysis, showing that the ZTPI-15 fit indices were satisfactory (χ²/dl = 2.58, RMSEA =.066, CFI = .90, AGFI =.90, RMSR = .067). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability was verified. Correlations between mean scores of the five factors showed relationships. Present-Fatalistic was related to Past-Negative (r =.23) and to Future (r = −.20), whereas a correlation between Past-Negative and Future (r = −.22) was demonstrated. Moreover, Future related to Past-Positive (r =.12). Age was associated to all scales of the ZTPI-15 and the strongest correlation was to Present-Hedonistic (r = −.31). The comparison between 253 young adults (M = 22.5 years) and 160 older adults (M = 73.3 years) showed that the older were less oriented to Past-Negative and Present-Hedonistic but more to Past-Positive, Present-Fatalistic and Future. Furthermore, educational level was correlated to Fatalistic-Present (r = −.28). The validity of the ZTPI-15 was also confirmed with the scores of anxiety and depression and with the Self-Esteem Scale: individuals with high score of anxiety were oriented to Past-Negative (r = .34) and those with high score of depression were oriented to past-Negative (r = .27) and Fatalistic-Present (r = .27). Finally, individuals with low self-esteem were strongly oriented to Past-Negative (r = −.45) and Present-Fatalistic (r = −.27), and individuals with high self-esteem to Future (r = .28).
(No) time to be healthy: Optimal policy with time and monetary investments in health
2024, Health Economics (United Kingdom)

View all citing articles on Scopus

^☆: This study was supported by the Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health. We thank Kadijat Oladiran for help with the surveys.

View full text

Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Time perspective and socioeconomic status: A link to socioeconomic disparities in health?☆

Abstract

Section snippets

Participants

Description of participants

Discussion

Social Science & Medicine

Personality and Individual Differences

Personality and Individual Differences

Time perspective, personality and smoking, body mass, and physical activity: an empirical study

British Journal of Health Psychology

Socioeconomic inequalities in health. No easy solution

Journal of the American Medical Association

Socioeconomic status and health: what we know and what we don't

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Social class in childhood and general health in adulthood: questionnaire study of contribution of psychological attributes

British Medical Journal

Time perspective, health, and risk taking

Ethnic differences in temporal orientation and its implications for hypertension management

Journal of Health and Social Behavior

Sustainable behavior and time perspective: present, past, and future orientations and their relationship with water conservation behavior

Interamerican Journal of Psychology