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Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory

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Abstract

The present study aimed to develop an applicable Chinese version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) and to examine its reliability and validity in national samples of China. We first used the samples of undergraduates to revise the original scale into Chinese version, and then examined the psychometric properties of the revised scale in a lager sample (18 to 65 years old). The revised 25-item scale consists of five subscales assessing Past Positive, Past Negative, Present Impulsive, Present Fatalistic, and Future with a similar factor structure to the original instrument, except that “Present Hedonistic” was renamed as “Present Impulsive”. Internal consistency estimates and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the 25-item ZTPI-Chinese version provided good reliability and the revised five-factor structure had acceptable fitness. Subsequent analyses provided support for invariance across gender and age. Overall, the ZTPI-Chinese version provides a reliable and valid instrument for testing time perspective in Chinese population, thereby facilitating both the study of time perspective in China and cross-cultural comparisons.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.

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Funding

This research was supported by Key project of Chongqing Social Science Planning Fund (2021NDZD09); the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (SWU1909027), the Chongqing Humanities and Social Science Key Research Base Project (18SKB02), and the Chongqing Education Science “14th Five-Year Plan” Key Project (2021-GX-003).

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Lyu Houchao, Li Xiaobao and Wang Chen designed the study idea and research framework. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Li Xiaobao and Wang Chen. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Li Xiaobao and Wang Chen. Lyu Houchao contributed to manuscript writing and modification. Data collection of American sample were performed by Frank C. Worrell and Zena R. Mello. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Houchao Lyu.

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Conflict of Interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethical Approval

This study was approved by the ethics committee of the corresponding author’s university.

Informed Consent

Written informed consent was obtained from each participant before data collection.

Ethics Statement

This study was approved by the ethics committee of Faculty of Psychology at Southwest University. The participants signed an informed consent form stating the aim of the study and explaining that they could withdraw from the study, and the data would be anonymous.

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Li, X., Wang, C., Lyu, H. et al. Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory. Curr Psychol 42, 13547–13559 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02622-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02622-6

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