Time perspective and self-control in high school graduates

The aim of this research is to examine the relation between time perspectives and self-control in final-year high school students. Time perspective refers to the importance an individual gives to their past, present or future. Self-control represents a conscious intention of an individual to control his/her emotions, thoughts and behaviour. The basic research problem which we have set refers to determining the prognostic capabilities of time perspectives in explaining self-control in our sample. The research included 110 fourth-grade students from grammar school, high school of economics and high school of technology. The gender structure consists of 38 (34.5%) males and 72 (65.5%) females. The dimensions of time perspectives are operationalized by a short version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI-short) with 18 items, by Kostal et al. (2015). The scale has six factors – Positive Past and Negative Past , Hedonistic Present and Fatalistic Present and Positive Future and Negative Future . Each factor is determined by three items. The reliability of the entire test on our sample is α=0.73. The construct of self-control is operationalized by a Self-Control Scale , created by Tangney, Baumeister & Boone (2004). The scale has one factor and includes 13 items. The reliability of the test on our sample is α=0.67. The results have confirmed that there is a significant predictor relation (p < 0.05) between time perspectives and self-control in high school graduates. The assumed model explains 21.4% of variance of self-control in final-year high school students. Out of the dimensions of time perspectives, two are statistically significant for explaining the variance of self-control – the Hedonistic Present β = -.404 and a Positive Orientation toward the Future β = .220. The obtained results are logical and they indicate that students who tend to enjoy the present have lower self-control, while those who believe in the positive future have higher self-control.