The connection between time perspective and resilience in people with depressive disorders

Introduction. The article is devoted to studying the connection between the time perspective and the hardiness of individuals with depressive disorders. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses worldwide, which significantly reduces the quality of life. One of the insufficiently studied factors related to the severity of depression is the time perspective. A distorted time perspective may be associated with depression and an assessment of past experiences, the current situation, and plans for the future. In this study, we will look at how a balanced time perspective is interconnected with a person's ability to overcome life's obstacles and cope with difficulties.
Materials and methods. Analysis of literature on depressive disorders, theoretical studies of time perspective (K. Levin, F. Zimbardo), the concept of hardiness (M. Maddi). The following methods were used as empirical methods: “Depression scale” by A. T. Beck (adapted by N. V. Tarabrina), “Hardiness survey” by S. Maddi (adapted by D. A. Leontiev, E. I. Rasskazova), “Time perspective” by F. Zimbardo (adapted by A. Syrtsova, E. T. Sokolova, O. V. Mitina). For statistical processing, the parametric Student’s t-test of differences, the parametric Pearson correlation test were used, and the statistical program “Jamovi” was used for calculations.
Results. A correlation was found between low levels of hardiness, depression, and an unbalanced time perspective. Healthy respondents had higher levels of hardiness and a more balanced time perspective. The data indicate a positive orientation of respondents towards time, manifested in a positive perception of past experiences, enjoyment of the present, and optimistic expectations for the future.
Discussion and conclusions. People with depression are characterized by an unbalanced time perspective that distorts their perception of the past, present, and future, as well as low levels of hardiness. Empirical analysis showed that individuals without depression have a more balanced time perspective and higher levels of hardiness indicators, such as involvement, control, and risk acceptance. Individuals without depression had more balanced time perspective indicators and higher levels of hardiness. The study findings suggest that an unbalanced perception of time may reduce hardiness by weakening self-control, motivation, and increasing the risk of depression.

1. Anisimova D. O. Time perspective of young men with different levels of hardiness. Mirovaya nauka, 2022, no. 11 (68), pp. 17-25. Available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/vremennayaperspektiva-yunoshey-s-raznym-urovnem-zhiznestoykosti (accessed: 04.02.2025). (In Russ.)

2. Bek A. Depression: clinical, experimental and theoretical aspects. Leningrad, Medicina Publ., 1965. 432 p. (In Russ.)

3. Vinnikott D. V. Human nature. St. Petersburg, Aletejya Publ., 2007. 560 p. (In Russ.)

4. Gegel' G. V. F. Phenomenology of spirit. Bamberg, Würzburg, 1807. 644 p. (In Russ.)

5. Kant I. Critique of Pure Reason. Moscow, Akademicheskij proekt Publ., 2020. 567 p. (In Russ.)

6. Klyajn M. Grief and its connection with manic-depressive states. Izhevsk. Izhevsk, ERGO Publ., 2007. Pp. 257-292. (In Russ.)

7. Levin K. Theory of the psychological field and the system of its psychological concepts. Psihologiya lichnosti: Moscow, Publishing house of Moscow University, 1982. Pp. 17-28. (In Russ.)

8. Leont'ev D. A., Rasskazova E. I. Vitality test. Moscow, Smysl Publ., 2006. 63 p. (In Russ.)

9. Lukashuk A. V., Merinov A. V. Clinical and psychological characteristics of fathers of teenage girls who attempted suicide. Nauchno-prakticheskij zhurnal, 2017, no. 2 (27), pp. 82-87. Available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/kliniko-psihologicheskaya-harakteristika-ottsovdevushek-podrostkovogo-vozrasta-sovershivshih-suitsidalnuyu-popytku (accessed: 04.02.2025). (In Russ.)

10. Maddi S., Kobej S. Resilience: A New Understanding of Human Resilience. Moscow, KogitoCentr Publ., 2023. 422 p. (In Russ.)

11. Maddi S. Resonance Theory of Self-Efficacy: The Meaning of Change. Moscow, Aprel'-Press: EKSMO-Press Publ., 2009. 296 p. (In Russ.)

12. Maddi S. R., Koppersmit G., Ford K. E. The Vitality Test. Moscow, Institut psihologii RAN Publ., 1997. Pp. 315-335. (In Russ.)

13. Rubinshtejn S. L. Psychology of Time. Moscow, Kniga Publ., 1993. 295 p. (In Russ.)

14. Rusakov S. V. The Relationship between Vitality and Time Perspective in the Structure of Life Plans of Convicts Serving Sentences in a Strict Regime Colony. Prikladnaya yuridicheskaya psihologiya, 2022, no. 4 (61), pp. 64-71. Available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/vzaimosvyaz-zhiznestoykostii-vremennoy-perspektivy-vstrukture-zhiznennyh-planov-osuzhdennyh-otbyvayuschih-nakazaniya-v-kolonii (accessed: 04.02.2025). (In Russ.)

15. Skinner B. F. Science and human behavior. Moscow, Progress Publ., 1998. 471 p. (In Russ.)

16. Frejd Z. Sadness and melancholy. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1998. Pp. 253-293. (In Russ.)

17. CHistopol'skaya K. A., Enikolopov S. N., Nikolaev E. L., Semikin G. I., Ozol' S. N., CHubina S. A. Attitudes towards death in the context of time perspective: adaptive, protective and maladaptive views on death in young adults. Nauchno-prakticheskij zhurnal, 2019, no. 1 (34), pp. 58-74. Available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/otnoshenie-k-smerti-v-kontekstevremennoy-perspektivy-adaptivnye-zaschitnye-i-neadaptivnye-vzglyady-na-smert-u-molodyhvzroslyh (accessed: 04.02.2025). (In Russ.)

18. CHistopol'skaya K. A., Enikolopov S. N. Attitudes towards death after a suicide attempt: stigmatization and self-stigmatization of suicidal patients. Vestnik psihiatrii i psihologii CHuvashii, 2015, no, 1, pp. 8-20. Available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/otnoshenie-ksmerti-v-kontekste-vremennoy-perspektivy-adaptivnye-zaschitnye-i-neadaptivnye-vzglyadyna-smert-u-molodyh-vzroslyh (accessed: 04.02.2025). (In Russ.)

19. Ellis A. Theory of rational-emotive behavioral therapy: a guide for clinical psychologists. St. Petersburg, Rech' Publ., 2002. 350 p. (In Russ.)

20. Bauer J. J., Bonanno G. A. Continuity amid discontinuity: Bridging one’s past and present in stories of conjugal bereavement. Narrative Inquiry, 2001, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 123-158. Available at: https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/ni.11.1.06bau (accessed: 04.02.2025).

21. Blatt S. J., Dafflitti J. P., Quinlan M. D. The experience of depression in normal young people. Washington, American Psychological Association, 1976. Pp. 383-389.

22. Kobasa S. C. Stressful life events, personality and health: An inquiry into hardiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1979, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 1-11. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/458548/ (accessed: 04.02.2025).

23. Seligman M. E. Helplessness: On Depression, Development, and Death. San Francisco, Freeman, 1975. 250 p.

24. Stolarski M., Wojtkowska K., Kwiecinska M. Time for love: Partners’ time perspectives predict relationship satisfaction in romantic heterosexual couples. Time and Society, 2016, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 522-574. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0961463X15596703 (accessed: 04.02.2025).

25. Wittmann M., Rudolph T., Linares Gutierrez D., Winkler I. Time perspective and emotion regulation as predictors of age-related subjective passage of time. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2015, vol. 12, no. 12, pp. 16027-16042. Available at: https://colab.ws/articles/10.3390%2Fijerph121215034?ysclid=m6qvf84bzm964429316 (accessed: 04.02.2025).

26. Zimbardo P. G., Boyd J. N. Putting time in perspective: a valid, reliable individual-difference metric. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1999, vol. 77, no. 6, pp. 1271-1288.