Future anxiety and belongingness in young and older adults: An empirical study

Human beings, by nature, have many expectations that create a feeling of anxiety about the future, but they are endured and long-ranged. They expect to have relationships with others and need to perceive an emotional interest, an interpersonal bond, and sustainment to continue living. Perceiving this link is required for feelings of belongingness, which decreases future anxiety.

To investigate the future anxiety and belongingness of young and older adults and determine their relationships.

The study was conducted with 404 volunteer participants. Data were collected using the demographic characteristics from the "Dark Future Scale" and "General Belongingness Scale".

The mean age of older adults was 66.76 ± 3.74, while that of younger adults was 36.72 ± 10.12. The average score for "future anxiety" was 18.81 ± 7.59, and for "general belongingness", it was 63.31 ± 1.40. Findings indicated a reverse correlation between future anxiety and belongingness. A significant difference in belonging scores was observed between young and older adults (P = 0.016, which is < 0.05), whereas no significant difference was found regarding future anxiety scores (P > 0.05).

Participants had a moderate level of "future anxiety" and higher "belongingness". Lower belongingness scores correlated with increased future anxiety. Older adults reported a lower sense of belonging than younger individuals.