Future Orientation Scale: A Psychometric Evaluation Across Health-Vulnerable Samples

Future orientation encompasses positive expectations about the future, the presence of reasons for persevering, and the perceived ability to cope and pursue goals under hardship, and is associated with beneficial health outcomes. Using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the psychometric properties of the six-item Future Orientation Scale (FOS) were evaluated among samples of predominantly racially and ethnically minoritized undergraduates (N = 3,219), individuals with fibromyalgia (N = 508), and sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals (N = 496). A single-factor solution emerged in the developmental sample, and CFA indicated adequate fit in each sample. Multigroup CFA supported full configural, metric, and scalar invariance, allowing for meaningful latent mean comparisons. Undergraduates exhibited the highest latent future orientation, followed by the SGM and fibromyalgia samples, respectively. Findings demonstrate that the FOS shows strong measurement invariance and captures substantive variation in future orientation across three populations at elevated psychological and physical health risk.