Psychometric properties of the Zimbardo time perspective inventory in Hong Kong adolescents

The present study examined the factor structure and discriminant validity of the Zimbardo time perspective inventory in a sample of 8422 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents aged between 12 and 19 (3649 boys). Participants completed the ZTPI, Beck Depression Inventory II and Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders. Principal component analysis identified six factors (37 items), five of which corresponded to the original one and a new factor, present-impulsive. T-test results indicated that compared to low depression adolescents and low anxiety adolescents, high depression adolescents and high anxiety adolescents scored higher on the past-negative, present-impulsive, and present-fatalistic subscales but lower on the past-positive, present-hedonistic, and future subscales. It is suggested that the inventory can be used to help adolescents reflect on their time perspectives and to aid the development of psycho-educational programs that can help adolescents develop a more balanced perspective on time