Presentation Information
[O2-02]Time attitudes and psychological distress: Exploring the interface between temporal representation and affect
*Thiago Bonifácio1, André Mascioli Cravo1 (1. Federal University of ABC (Brazil))
Keywords:
Time attitudes,Psychological distress,Emotion regulation,Mental health
This study explored the relationships between time-related attitudes, emotion regulation strategies, and psychological distress in a Brazilian sample (N = 625) using online self-report measures. Participants completed the Adolescent and Adult Time Attitudes Scale, Time Meaning and Metaphors Questionnaires, Regulation of Emotion Systems Survey, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Bootstrapped correlation analyses showed strong positive associations between negative time attitudes, rumination, and psychological distress, especially depression. Present-negative attitudes were most strongly linked to depressive symptoms (r = 0.62, p < .05), along with general negative views of time (Meaning: r = 0.48; Metaphors: r = 0.33; ps < .05). In contrast, positive time attitudes correlated negatively with distress and positively with cognitive reappraisal (r = 0.28, p < .05). Random Forest regression analyses predicted psychological outcomes with modest accuracy: R² = 0.24 for anxiety (RMSE = 3.57), 0.50 for depression (RMSE = 3.91), and 0.27 for stress (RMSE = 3.46), all outperforming baseline models. Feature importance analyses identified key predictors: For anxiety: past-negative attitudes, age, and negative time metaphors. For depression: present-negative and present-positive attitudes, and general affective time evaluations. For stress: present-negative attitudes, affective time evaluations, and rumination. These results highlight the relevance of time attitudes, especially those related to the present, in the psychological well-being of adults. We suggest that time attitudes likely reflect rather than cause distress. Based on our findings, we propose two hypotheses: (1) the early marker hypothesis, where negative time attitudes may precede other symptoms; and (2) the open-window hypothesis, where time-related attitudes or beliefs offer a less stigmatizing path to early mental health interventions.