L’objectif de cette recherche était d’étudier les liens entre les perspectives temporelles telles que définies par Zimbardo et Boyd, 1999Zimbardo P.G., Boyd J.N. Putting time in perspective: a valid, reliable individual difference metric Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1999 ;  77 : 1271-1288 [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti et la satisfaction de vie auprès d’un échantillon de personnes âgées (n=188). Nous faisions l’hypothèse que ces liens seraient médiatisés par le sentiment d’auto-efficacité généralisée. Pour ce faire, un modèle en pistes causales assorti d’une procédure de rééchantillonnage fut testé. L’âge, le sexe, la santé subjective et l’humeur dépressive y étaient introduites comme variables de contrôle. Nos résultats ont révélé que : seul le présent hédoniste exerce un effet indirect positif sur la satisfaction de vie à travers le sentiment d’auto-efficacité ; le passé négatif semble exercer un effet négatif aussi bien direct qu’indirect sur la satisfaction de vie ; le présent fataliste exerce un effet négatif exclusivement direct sur la satisfaction de vie ; ni le passé positif ni le futur n’exercent un quelconque effet sur la satisfaction de vie. Ces résultats ainsi que leurs limites ont fait l’objet d’une discussion.

One of the major life goals is to pursue and to boost happiness (e.g., life satisfaction). Thus, exploring how people proceed to maintain an optimal level of happiness throughout their life course, and exploring which are the specific personal and social processes that contribute to this feeling of well-being within various stages of life, remain central topics for contemporary psychological science.

The objective of this cross-sectional research was to study the relationships between time perspective as defined by Zimbardo et Boyd, 1999Zimbardo P.G., Boyd J.N. Putting time in perspective: a valid, reliable individual difference metric Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1999 ;  77 : 1271-1288 [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti and life satisfaction among a sample of aged people (n=188). We hypothesized that these relationships were mediated by the generalized self-efficacy.

To do this, a path model using a Bootstrap procedure was tested. Age, sex, self-perceived health and depressive mood were entered into the model as control variables.

Our findings showed that: only present hedonistic has a positive indirect effect on life satisfaction through self-efficacy; the past negative seems to have a negative effect both directly and indirectly on life satisfaction; the present fatalistic exerts exclusively a direct negative effect on life satisfaction; and neither the past positive nor the future exert any effect on life satisfaction.

The results emphasize the adaptive as well as maladaptive roles of different dimensions of time perspective in older people. These roles were discussed in light of some theoretical models, such as functions of reminiscence model and the socioemotional selectivity model.