Subjective time experience in an intergenerational sample

The roles chronological age and gender play in subjective time experience were explored in a sample of 294 adult men and women. Subjective time experience (STE: the difference between subjective age and chronological age) was found to vary widely among individuals, with some being "accurate" (SA = CA), and others either "retarded" (SA less than CA) or "advanced" (SA greater than CA). Males were more retarded in STE than females at every point in the lifespan, and patterns of age differences in adulthood differed for the two sexes as well. The results suggest that chronological age may play a key role in transitions in STE, and that chronological age is more significant in the STE of women than in the STE of men.