Adolescents’ subjective well-being: The role of adolescents’ and mothers’ time perspectives

Abstract

This study investigated the relations between adolescents’ and their mothers’ time perspectives and adolescents’ subjective well-being. The sample included 104 adolescents (72.1% girls), aged between 15 and 17 years and their mothers ( M = 42.67, SD = 5.66). Adolescents completed scales measuring their life events, time perspective, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Mothers also fill in a scale assessing their time perspective. The results showed that adolescents who reported higher levels of negative events in their life also reported higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower levels of life satisfaction. Moreover, adolescents’ depressive symptoms were significantly positively associated with their past negative time perspective, but significantly negatively correlated with past positive time perspective. Further, adolescents’ life satisfaction was negatively associated with their past negative but positively with past positive time perspectives. Concerning maternal time perspective, only fatalist present perspective was significantly negatively related with adolescents’ life satisfaction. The findings provide evidence about the role of the adolescents’ and mothers’ time perspective in explaining the adolescents’ subjective well-being.