Time Attitude in Senior Students with Different Levels of Subjective Well-Being and Optimism

Abstract

The research featured the way time attitude depend on the levels of subjective well-being and optimism. The attitude manifested as temporal freedom, dependence, and infantilism. The authors believe that attitude to one's time can be an indicator of one’s subjective well-being and optimism. The survey included 297 senior students (age 21–22, 154 female subjects) of the Ugra State University (Khanty-Mansiysk) and the Kurgan branch of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation (Kurgan). All the participants were citizens of Russia. The study employed a set of methods, including authentic versions of The Scale of Attitude to Time and The Scale of Optimism of Personality, as well as The Scale of Subjective Well-Being adapted by M.V. Sokolova. The study established the interdependence of subjective well-being and optimism with time attitude represented by temporary freedom, dependence, and infantilism. Optimists saw time as a resource for activity and demonstrated no obsession with time management and control. Students with a sense of well-being and optimism had low temporal dependence; those with moderate levels of well-being and optimism had higher levels of temporal dependence; those with low levels of subjective well-being demonstrated high levels of temporal dependence. Time attitude proved to be an effective indicator of subjective well-being. For instance, flexible attitude to time management reflected subjective well-being. Time dependence indicated subjective disadvantage and pessimism. Temporal infantilism, i.e. irrational attitude to time management, was typical of senior students with increased self-esteem, poor selfunderstanding, non- acceptance, and rejection of difficulties.

Keywords

• psychological time
• temporal freedom
• dependence
• infantilism
• scale of subjective well-being