The relationship of Time Perspective with Depression, Anxiety and Stress across International Students in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Individual differences in psychological relationships to time are the fundamental construction of time perspective (TP). Research suggests that TP is related to mental health. The question is whether balancing TP predicts mental health well-being in cross-culture studies. Considering the period of COVID-19 and several individual differences that might have significant psychological effects. A cross-sectional, web-based survey study was conducted among international students (N=228) who enrolled at Chinese universities. The participants were recruited through convenient sampling. Following informed consent, demographic variables, depression, anxiety, and stress scales were used. Later on, reliability, correlation, and regression analysis were conducted to examine the association between variables. Results show a strong positive relation between Past Negative (PN) TP with anxiety, depression, and perceived stress. Present Fatalistic (PF) also shows a significant relation with anxiety. While TPs' dimensions Past Positive (PP) and Future (F) negatively significant with depression. Our study illustrates that balancing one's own temporal perspective decreases the chances of being mentally sick. This suggests that manipulative TP profiles are tailored to mental health. Thus, TP profiles may impact conditions that are characterized to achieve the desired behavioral outcomes in periods of uncertainty.