Time perspective, mindfulness, and psychological symptoms: psychometric properties of the Turkish short Zimbardo time...

Our perspective on time constitutes a fundamental aspect of psychological functioning, making the assessment of time perspective critically important. This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the 18-item Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory - Short Form (ZTPI-Short), which includes the "Future Negative" subscale, and to explore the relationship between mindfulness and time perspective.

A descriptive, cross-sectional online survey was conducted, and participants were reached through a convenience sampling procedure. A total of 367 participants were included in the analysis. The factor structure of the inventory was evaluated through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and exploratory structural equation model (ESEM).

The mean age of participants was 25.81 (SD = 0.741), and 61.9% were female. Among the participants, 13.9% reported having a physical illness, and 14.7% reported having a psychiatric disorder. EFA supported a six-factor solution explaining 59% of variance. CFA showed limited fit improved by theory-justified residual covariance; ESEM yielded substantially better fit (CFI = 0.960, TLI = 0.896, RMSEA = 0.069, SRMR = 0.026). Under MLR, information criteria favored six over five factors. Ordinal α exceeded 0.70 for most subscales; ω ≥ 0.70 for five subscales, with Present Hedonistic marginal (ω = 0.678) yet supported by mean loading (0.690) and discriminant evidence. Fornell-Larcker and HTMT (< 0.85; highest 0.673 for Past Negative-Future Negative) indicated discriminant validity. Furthermore, mediation analyses demonstrated that mindfulness significantly mediated the relationships between past negative time perspective and depression, and between future negative time perspective and anxiety.

The study provides evidence for the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the ZTPI-Short. These results underscore the importance of integrating both temporal orientation and mindfulness into psychological assessment and intervention strategies aimed at reducing depression and anxiety symptoms.