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Does Time Perspective Predict Life Satisfaction? A Study Including Mindfulness as a Measure of Time Experience in a Sample of Catalan Students

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Abstract

Previous studies have reported that life satisfaction (LS) is positively associated with time perspective (TP) and mindfulness and that mindfulness may provide a holistic TP that integrates and helps to balance different time frames. However, studies performed to date have only been conducted in Eastern and Central Europe. Given the important cultural differences in time management between these regions and Mediterranean countries, the purpose of the present study was to replicate those studies to assess the association between mindfulness, TP, and LS in a sample of young adults living in the province of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). A total of 377 undergraduate university students (65.25% women) were recruited and completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Results show significant positive relationships between LS, mindfulness, and past positive, as well as negative associations between LS, past negative, and an unbalanced TP. Mindfulness also correlated inversely with an unbalanced TP. Regression analyses showed that 27% of variance in LS could be explained by the past negative and past positive ZTPI measures together with the MAAS. These results confirm the conclusions of previous studies conducted in culturally different populations and reinforce the hypothesis that mindfulness provides a holistic TP that intrinsically balances TP and increases LS. These findings suggest that a mindful attitude might be a key component of TP regulation that transcends different European cultural backgrounds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Clinical Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Anna Muro & Josep Deví

  2. Teaching, Research & Innovation Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain

    Albert Feliu-Soler

  3. Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau–IIB Sant Pau, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain

    Albert Feliu-Soler & Joaquim Soler

  4. Departament of Basic Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Judit Castellà

  5. Psychiatry Service, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Joaquim Soler

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  1. Anna Muro
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  2. Albert Feliu-Soler
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  3. Judit Castellà
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Correspondence to Anna Muro.

Ethics declarations

All participants gave informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study and did not receive any academic credit or financial compensation for their collaboration. The Ethics Committee of the AUB approved the study protocol.

Conflict of Interest

Albert Feliu-Soler has a research contract funded by the Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII; CP14/00087). Joaquim Soler has a research grant from Spanish Goverment’s Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Excellence Network PSI2014-56303-REDT: PROMOSAM- Investigación en Procesos, Mecanismos y Tratamientos Psicologicos para la Promocion de la Salud Mental.

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Autonomous University of Barcelona research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments involving human participants.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Muro, A., Feliu-Soler, A., Castellà, J. et al. Does Time Perspective Predict Life Satisfaction? A Study Including Mindfulness as a Measure of Time Experience in a Sample of Catalan Students. Mindfulness 8, 655–663 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0644-3

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