Future Anxiety in Young Spanish Adults: Psychometric Properties of the Dark Future Scale

Background/Objective: The Dark Future Scale (DFS) is a self report instrument which assesses the tendency to think about the future with anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. Although it has been applied in different populations, instrumental studies are scarce, and there is no validated Spanish version. The aim was therefore to develop a Spanish version of the scale (DFS-S) and to analyze its psychometric properties in a sample of young adults. Method: Participants were 1,019 individuals aged from 18 to 24 years. They completed the DFS-S and the IPIP-BFM-20. Validity evidence based on the internal structure, including measurement invariance across gender, as well as on relationships with personality traits was obtained. Reliability and gender differences in DFS-S scores were also examined. Results: Results supported a single-factor structure, chi 2(5) = 10.79, CFI = .999, RMSEA = .034, SRMR = .016, that was invariant across gender. Reliability of test scores was satisfactory (omega = .92). In the correlation analysis, future anxiety showed a strong positive correlation with neuroticism (.42) and a moderate negative correlation with extraversion (-.25). Females scored higher than males on future anxiety. Conclusions: The DFS-S has satisfactory psychometric properties and it is an adequate tool for measuring future anxiety among young adults.