(PS4-D87) All I Need Is Time: Pilot Testing and Initial Validation of a Measure Assessing Romantic Partners’ Subjective Experience of the Past, Present, and Future

The concept of temporal focus—people’s tendency to think about the past, present, or future—has attracted recent empirical attention as a predictor of individual psychopathology. However, less attention has been given to this concept within interpersonal functioning. Indeed, it has implications for romantic partners—for example, a couple who focuses mostly on their future may be very achievement-oriented, but may forget to enjoy each other in the present, leading to relationship distress.

To examine temporal focus in relationships, an adequate measure is needed. Existing measures suffer from conceptual limitations—namely, conflating focus on a certain time period with positive or negative evaluations of one’s past, present, or future (e.g., regret, hope). Because focusing on a given time period is different from how people think, there is merit in assessing these separately. This study aimed to address this limitation by pilot testing a novel 7-item measure (the Brief Temporal Focus Questionnaire [BTFQ]), which examines (a) the degree of respondents’ focus on the past, present, and future and (b) the positive or negative valence of their thoughts about each area. Goals included testing the concurrent and predictive validity of the BTFQ against the Temporal Focus Survey (TFS; Shipp et al., 2009)—a previously validated measure that assesses degree (not valence) of focus.

Participants in romantic relationships (N=106) completed an online survey including the BTFQ, TFS, and measures of depression, anxiety, and life satisfaction. The latter three were selected for their established associations with temporal focus. Concurrent validity between the TFS degree subscales and BTFQ degree items was assessed via correlations. Predictive validity was tested via path models including main and interaction effects between (a) degree of each focus and (b) the valence of each area as predictors of (c) depression, anxiety, and life satisfaction. Two path models were compared, one using the BTFQ degree items with valence and the other using TFS degree subscales with BTFQ valence.

 
Results demonstrated that the BTFQ degree items were highly correlated with the TFS degree subscales (past= .69, present=.59, future=.73). However, results were mixed between the path models. In the model assessing TFS degree and BTFQ valence, consistent patterns emerged across all outcomes: (a) focusing more on the past was linked with higher depression/anxiety and lower life satisfaction; (b) participants report being less depressed/anxious and more satisfied with life when they concurrently focus more on their present and view it positively. Conversely, in the model with BTFQ degree and valence, only present valence emerged as a significant predictor. Ultimately, the model containing TFS degree and BTFQ valence produced results most consistent with the literature on individual well-being and explained more variance among the selected outcomes. We therefore conclude that BTFQ valence (not degree) contributes both statistical and conceptual value in studies of temporal focus. Future investigations on couples may consider using an expanded version of the TFS including both its original subscales on degree of focus and our new items on valence.