Beyond the here and now: mood, death attitudes, and diverse future time perspective in late adulthood

Human life is embedded in time, and future time perspective becomes particularly salient in late adulthood. This study examined how three dimensions of death attitudes (contemplation of death, fear of death, belief in life after death) and general mood relate to four dimensions of future orientation in late adulthood: positive future, negative future, transcendental future, and transcendent future, considering age and gender.

A total of 446 participants aged 60 to 94 years completed the Death Attitude Questionnaire, measures of future time perspective (positive, negative, transcendental, transcendent future), and the General Mood Scale. Correlational analyses, regression-informed path analysis, and MANOVA were conducted.

Lower general mood was associated with higher negative future and higher fear of death, whereas belief in life after death and contemplation of death showed strong links with transcendental and transcendent future. In the path model, negative future was predicted by lower mood and higher fear of death and contemplation of death, while positive future showed positive associations with higher mood and belief in life after death. Transcendental future was strongly predicted by belief in life after death, with positive associations with contemplation of death and fear of death, whereas transcendent future was predicted by belief in life after death and contemplation of death. Women scored higher on transcendental and transcendent future than men.

Future perceptions in late adulthood are closely linked to mood and ways of thinking about death, and associations differ between personal future within this life and future extending beyond one's own life.