Time perspective and weight management behaviors in newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes: a mediational analysis

Abstract

The primary objective of the current study was to examine the extent to which domain-specific time perspective predicts weight management behaviors (dietary behavior and physical activity) among those newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. A secondary objective was to test potential mediators of the hypothesized effect (behavioral intention, self-efficacy and control beliefs). A total of 204 adults newly diagnosed (≤6 months) with Type 2 diabetes participated in the study, which included a baseline assessment of domain-general and domain-specific time perspective, as well as strength of intention to perform two weight-management behaviors (dietary choice and physical activity); both weight-management behaviors were assessed again at 6 month follow-up. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed a prospective association between domain-specific time perspective and uptake of weight management behaviors. Individuals with newly diagnosed T2DM possessing a future-oriented time perspective reported making less frequent fatty food choices and greater increases in physical activity over the 6-month follow-up interval. These effects were selectively mediated by intention strength, and not competing social cognitive variables. For both behaviors, the total effects and meditational models were robust to adjustments for demographics, body composition and disease variables. A future-oriented time perspective is prospectively associated with superior uptake of weight management behaviors among those with newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes. The facilitating effect of future-oriented thinking appears to occur via enhanced strength of intentions to perform weight management behaviors.

Who Looks Forward to Better Health? Personality Factors and Future Self-Rated Health in the Context of Chronic Illness

“…The present findings indicate that for individuals scoring high in Agreeableness and low in Neuroticism, this prospective process with respect to health may rely upon more than current health states and involve viewing future health through an optimistic lens. The benefits of taking a positive view of the future for motivating important health behaviors are well documented, especially for those dealing with an ongoing health issue [37]. Accordingly, high Agreeableness and low Neuroticism may indicate who may be more likely to continue health-promoting behaviors key for disease management because they view their future health positively.…”

“…Because theory and research indicate that positive expectations for the future can motivate current health-relevant behaviours [36][37][38], future self-related health (FSRH) may be a particularly important concept to study in individuals living with a chronic illness to better understand their current health-promoting and disease management behaviors. From this perspective, the translational value of the current findings could be optimized by identifying individuals with IBD or arthritis who are low in Agreeableness and high in Neuroticism and may be more likely to view their future health more negatively.…”

“…Although current research now often uses an adapted version of the global health-rating from the SF-36 [37] to assess FSRH, there were no validated measures of FSRH at the time of this data collection.…”

Time perspective as a determinant of smoking cessation in four countries: Direct and mediated effects from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) 4-Country Surveys

“…One theoretical framework, temporal self-regulation theory (Hall & Fong, 2013), posits that time perspective should exert its effect on behaviors via intention strength; that is, future oriented individuals engage in healthier behaviors because of their stronger motivation (i.e., intentions) to do so; such stronger intentions, in turn, are thought to be generated by their greater sensitivity to the long-term (or nonimmediate) contingencies for their own behavior. There are only two prior studies that have examined intention as a mediator of the effect of time perspective on health behaviors, both of which have found support for the link (Hall, Fong, & Cheng, 2012; Hall et al, 2012). In our earlier analysis of a much more limited subset of this data (3 years; Hall et al, 2012), we found that future orientation predicted quit attempts, but the data was not yet complete for the full follow-up interval (now nearly 10 years cumulatively).…”

Action planning fosters adoption of regular physical activity behavior among low-control individuals with high intention

“…Results suggest that fi rst-timers can concentrate on getting started with AcP before considering CP, which should be more useful in maintenance (Scholz et al, 2008). In addition to the formulation stage-appropriate specifi c plans, they also highlight the importance of sustaining volition over time, hence self-regulatory effort, as proposed by Hall, Fong &Cheng (2011), andHagger et al (2010).…”