Openness to the Future Scale: The Russian Adaptation and Validization

Abstract

Introduction. The Openness to the Future Scale (OFS) was developed in 2018 to measure a new phenomenon in the field of positive psychology [5]. Contemporary professionals use it in research on both positive psychological resources and clinical psychological phenomena. Objective. The aim of this study was to adapt the Russian–language version of the Openness to the Future Scale on a population–based sample. Method. There were three groups of respondents: 374 volunteers from the general population, 72 homeless people temporarily living in the «Warm Reception» shelter, and 68 young adult graduates of orphanages and teenagers living in orphanages and dormitories at educational institutions. All participants filled out the Russian version of the Openness to the Future Scale, and participants in the second and third groups additionally filled out measures to assess psychological resources. Results. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a single–factor model identical to the factor structure of the original version of the Openness to the Future Scale, which confirmed the factor validity of the adapted instrument. The Cronbach's α–value was 0,83, which is evidence in favor of the internal reliability of the Russian version of the Openness to the Future Scale. Openness to the future scores were higher for male and younger respondents compared to female and older respondents. Openness to the future was positively correlated with life attitudes in the homeless and with resilience and proactive coping in young adult graduates and adolescents from orphanages. Conclusion. The basic psychometric properties of the adapted instrument allow recommending it as a research tool. This pilot study determines the need for further psychometric examinations of the Russian–language version of the Openness to the Future Scale, including by expanding the study sample, involving experts and respondents from different age and clinical groups, and comparing self–report data with objective psychometric assessments.