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

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.

Automated summary

This study assessed the time orientations of Ukrainian students living in different regions before and during the crises in 2014-2016. The findings revealed that residents in the region far from the war zone had an increased future time orientation, while residents in the regions close to the war zone had a decreased future time orientation. This suggests that time perspectives are influenced by specific social, economic, and political factors and evaluations, and can adapt to extreme life circumstances.