Time Perspective Training Package on Balancing Time and Anxiety of Students

Time perspective is a fundamental dimension of the psychological structure of time and there is often a seductive process that is balanced among past, present and future or mainly focused on a realm. From this, it can be said that time perspective has a regulator of human actions and affects its activities and psychological states. A balanced attitude toward time dimensions reflects mental health, while extreme attitudes toward living in an unhealthy way toward time dimensions. Since anxiety is one of the most important problems of human society. Considering the importance of adolescence and how to deal with problems, the aim of present study was investigation the effect of time perspective training on the creation of time balance and reduction anxiety of students. 

This applied research was in the category of semi–experimental research with pre–test, post–test and follow–up with experimental and control group. The research population were ninth grade of girls in Tehran who were studying in the academic year of 2016–2017 and multi–stage random sampling was done. Among students who did not have time balance, they were randomly divided into two groups (n=30 for each group). Data collection tools were ZTPI questionnaire, CattLllchr('39')s anxiety questionnaire (CAQ) and time perspective training package. The experimental group was trained for 10 sessions twice a week while the control group did not receive any training. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics of variance for repeated measures analysis ANOVA and Bonfroni was used to analyze the data through SPSS software version 22.

To analyze the variance for repeated measures, we examined the assumptions of this test such as Shapiro–Wilk test, Leven test results showed the normality of the distribution of scores on both research instruments. Mauchly’s Test of Sphericity test results confirmed the equality of variances assumption. The mean of the time balance variable for the control group in the pre–test was 21.91, in the post–test, 21.82 and in the follow–up period, was 21.92, and for the experimental group in the pre–test, 20.23, in the post–test, 27.77, and the follow up was 27.59. The mean of anxiety in the control group was 25.72 in the pre–test, 25.64 in the post–test and 26.66 in the follow–up phase, and for the experimental group in the pre–test 27.69, in the post–test 21 and in the stage the follow up was 21.04. The results showed that the F–value in time balance variable was significant p<0.001, and considering that the mean of the experimental group in the time balance variable was higher than that in the control group and post–test and follow–up stages. In addition, the findings showed that the F–value in the anxiety variable was significant p<0.001, and considering that the mean of the experimental group in the anxiety variable decreased in comparison with the control group in the post–test and follow–up stages. 

The results showed that time perspective training had an impact on the time balance and anxiety of students and this effect remained stable during two–month follow–up phase. Therefore, anxiety of the students after training in the experimental group reduced compared to the control group and there was a significant difference between the two groups. In addition, the time perspective components in the experimental group were more balanced than the control group.