Abstract
Future self-continuity refers to individuals’ perceived degree of continuity and coherence between present and future selves. Recent studies have documented the negative associations between future self-continuity and various aspects of negative emotional states including stress, anxiety, and depression. Although the reduced future self-continuity is typically assumed to cause negative emotional states, the reverse path is also possible. This study aimed to investigate the reciprocal associations between future self-continuity and negative emotional states, exploring the mediating effects of coping style. We collected 3 waves of data at 6-month intervals from Chinese students in higher education (N = 402, M = 21.16 years old, SD = 1.81, 47% females). Cross-lagged panel models showed that future self-continuity at Time 2 negatively predicted negative emotional states at Time 3, while all cross-lagged effects of negative emotional states on future self-continuity were negative and significant. Moreover, coping style mediated the reciprocal relations between future self-continuity and negative emotional states. These results indicated that future self-continuity and negative emotional states appear to be bidirectionally associated, highlighting the mediating role of coping style. Such findings have potential implications for promoting future self-continuity and reducing negative emotional states of students in higher education.
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The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.
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This research was supported by the Project funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2023M741025), the Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning Project of Henan Province (2022CJY047), and Henan Province Education Science Planning Special Topic (2023JZX026).
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Mao Yichen: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data Curation, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing- Original draft preparation, Writing- Reviewing and Editing, Visualization. Li Xiaobao: Conceptualization, Data Curation, Resource, Supervision, Writing – Review & Editing, Project administration, Funding acquisition.
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Mao, Y., Li, X. Coping style mediates the longitudinal bidirectional relationship between future self-continuity and negative emotional states. Motiv Emot (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-024-10068-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-024-10068-z