Journal
PSYCHOLOGY AND AGING
Volume 31, Issue 6, Pages 583-593Publisher
AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
DOI: 10.1037/pag0000060
Keywords
future time perspective; emotional functioning; socioemotional selectivity theory; affect; empathy
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Although a limited future time perspective (FTP) has been theorized to be the underlying mechanism of positive emotional functioning later in life, there is scant empirical evidence for this position. Using an integrative data-analytic approach, we investigated the predictive value of FTP, age, and subjective health in explaining emotional functioning in a sample of 2,504 adults (17 to 87 years, M = 35.5, SD = 14.2). Although older adults reported a more limited FTP than younger adults, age and a limited FTP had opposite effects in predicting subjective well-being, affect, positive emotions, empathy, and attitudes toward emotions. That is, old age was linked to a more adaptive emotional profile, whereas a limited FTP was linked to a more maladaptive emotional profile. This was the case even after controlling for health-related aspects. The findings question the usage of FTP as an explanatory variable for observed age differences in emotional functioning.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available