Identity status differences among Italian adolescents: Associations with time perspective

Children and Youth Services Review 35 (2013) 482–487

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Identity status differences among Italian adolescents: Associations with time perspective Fiorenzo Laghi ⁎, Roberto Baiocco, Francesca Liga, Angela Guarino, Emma Baumgartner Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza, University of Rome, Italy

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 4 September 2012 Received in revised form 20 December 2012 Accepted 20 December 2012 Available online 8 January 2013 Keywords: Identity status Time perspective Future orientation Exploration Adolescence

a b s t r a c t Based on Marcia's identity status model, this cross-sectional study examined adolescents' identity formation analyzing its association with time perspective. A sample of 1300 Italian adolescents filled in self-report measures assessing two major developmental processes: identity resolution and time perspective. Adolescents who achieved an integrated identity status seemed to primarily adopt a future time perspective and to have a positive view of the past. By contrast, Diffused adolescents reported negative experiences in the past, a lower future orientation and a greater inclination to fatalism compared to others. The implications of the findings, limitations and suggestions for future theoretical and empirical development of research in this field are discussed. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Adolescence is a crucial time of individuals' lives characterized by multiple transitions and changes in approach to cognitive tasks, moral issues and psychosocial concerns. They are faced with many challenges, the resolution of which can be influential in their adjustment (Adams & Berzonsky, 2008; Laghi, Baiocco, D'Alessio, & Gurrieri, 2009; Steinberg, 2001). Erikson (1968) argued that the major psychosocial task with which adolescents have to deal is the development of a coherent sense of identity. Adolescents experiment with alternative roles and ideals available in their society before making the relatively enduring commitments which provide them with a secure sense of identity within their community (Erikson, 1968; Solomontos-Kountouri & Hurry, 2008). This conceptualization about identity carried out by integrating self representations in the past, present and future as well as the self and social setting (Erikson, 1968; Laghi, D'Alessio, Pallini, & Baiocco, 2009; Seginer & Noyman, 2005; Pace and Zappulla, 2009, 2011). During adolescence, youths become increasingly aware of their own identity to the extent that they recover and make their past memories. At the same time they attribute a greater importance to the future, where they place the fulfillment of aspirations and projects (Laghi, D'Alessio et al., 2009;

Laghi, Pallini, D'Alessio, & Baiocco, 2011; Meeus, Oosterwegel, & Vollebergh, 2002; Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, & Collins, 2005). Thus, adolescence can be conceived as that period in which individuals are confronted with developing an integrated and coherent identity and making plan and organizing for the future. Several authors (Boniwell & Zimbardo, 2004; Laghi, Baiocco, Lonigro, Capacchione, & Baumgartner, 2012; Luyckx, Lens, Smits, & Goossens, 2010; Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999) indeed suggested that time perspective can become a dispositional characteristic which may influence individual choices, actions and decisions, and as such can be a prerequisite to starting to build one's identity, above all during adolescence. Likewise, time perspective may be likely influenced by several factors, such as identity development throughout different contexts (Aspinwall, 2005; Kerpelman & Mosher, 2004). Specifically, an optimal sense of identity was associated with a sense of direction and investment in the future (Berzonsky & Adams, 1999). The present study was aimed at investigating the association between each adolescents' identity status and their attitudinal and behavioral preferences for past, present or future perspective in a sample of Italian students. Before we proceed to our hypotheses, we outline the theories on identity resolution (Marcia, 1980) and time perspective (Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999) as used in the present study. 1.1. Identity formation

⁎ Corresponding author at: Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185 Roma, Italy. Tel.: +39 06 49 91 7619; fax: +39 06 49 91 7672. E-mail address: fi[email protected] (F. Laghi). 0190-7409/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.12.018

Identity formation process can be defined as a process that involves the ego's ability to synthesize and integrate important earlier identifications into a new form, uniquely one's own (Kroger, 2008).

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Erikson (1968) described ego identity as serving a variety of functions including sameness over time, inner coherence, the synthesis of successive identifications, and protection against experiences of sudden discontinuities The achievement of a cohesive and stable set of personal values creates an integrated sense of self and, at the same time, allows for future development and adjustment throughout life (Adams et al., 2001; Laghi, Liga, Baumgartner, & Baiocco, 2012a,b; Schwartz, 2007; Cacioppo, Pace, & Zappulla (2012)). According to Erikson's theory, the processes of identity exploration and commitment have been viewed as crucial dimensions of personal identity formation (Luyckx et al., 2010; Waterman, 1999). Exploration can be defined as a problem solving behavior involving the active consideration of alternative possible identity elements in a quest for a more complete sense of self. Specifically, exploration is seen as increasing the likelihood that the element eventually selected will be one that has a reasonable chance of satisfying adolescents' needs especially related to the three main aspects included in Erikson's (1968) depiction of identity: having a sense of direction, coming to terms with one's body, and anticipating recognition by significant others (Seginer & Noyman, 2005). Commitment is the act of choosing one or more alternatives and following through them representing a decision to adhere to a specific set of goals, values, and beliefs, whether self-initiated or adapted from others. Because commitment is a decision to pursue a meaningful future course and to adopt a set of ideals, reaching it affects one's sense of purpose and continuity as it affirms individual sense of direction and of connectedness (Bosma, 1992; Marcia, 1980; Seginer & Noyman, 2005). Furthermore, commitment to selected identity elements increases the likelihood of successfully working through difficulties that might arise in the implementation of specific identity choices (Bosma, 1992). In the attempt to better understand the relationship between exploration and commitment variables to the formation of ego identity, Marcia (1966) developed the identity status model that identifies four qualitatively identity statuses of resolution to identity. Each of these identity statuses represents a juxtaposition of levels of exploration and commitment that adolescent is experiencing or has experienced (Marcia, 1966, 1980; Meeus, van de Schoot, Keijsers, Schwartz, & Branje, 2010). Identity achieved (A): adolescents have experienced a phase of exploring several alternatives before committing a specific identity defining domain. As personality features, they have shown high levels of achievement motivation, self esteem and conscientiousness. In terms of cognitive processes, they have demonstrated the ability to use more planned, rational and logical decision-making strategies than other identity status (Kroger, 2008; Marcia, 1980; Schwartz, 2001). Moratorium (M): adolescents are in the process of active exploration, but they have not made significant commitments. They have shown to be associated with high levels of anxiety. Like the identity achieved, they seem to be able to integrate and analyze information from different perspectives and to be more experientially oriented than the other groups (Kroger, 2008; Marcia, 1980; Schwartz, 2001). Foreclosed (F): adolescents have made a commitment, but have not gone through a period of active exploration. They are characterized by high levels of conformity, aspiration changes and use of external locus of control. Furthermore, they are not generally open to new experiences and are especially oriented toward the more distant future than the other identity status (Kroger, 2008; Marcia, 1980; Schwartz, 2001). Diffused (D): adolescents have neither explored among different alternatives nor have made a commitment regarding a specific domain. They show low levels of autonomy, self-esteem and lowest sense of personal integrative continuity over time. They are also characterized by a diffuse-avoidant identity style tending to be low in self-awareness and avoid dealing with identity issues (Kroger, 2008; Marcia, 1980; Schwartz, 2001). The different types of identity are each related in a unique way to psychological adjustment and problematic outcomes: adolescents

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who experienced the less advanced identity status – foreclosure and diffusion – are more likely to report the most negative profile. When a synthesized and coherent sense of identity predominates over identity confusion, adolescents are likely to achieve high levels of interpersonal effectiveness, academic success and self-regulatory abilities (Luyckx et al., 2008; Schwartz et al., 2009). Particularly, individuals who are in a diffused status may be more inclined to escape the distress using addictive behaviors or high risk ones for reducing anxiety and negative affect specifically concerning those decisions that have a significant impact on their personal identities and life paths (Berzonsky, 1990; Laghi, Baiocco, D'Alessio, Gurrieri, & Mazza, 2008; Seaton & Beaumont, 2008; Wheeler, Adams, & Keating, 2001). 1.2. Time perspective Time perspective (TP) is a fundamental process of a person's subjective experience that we learn at an early age through our culture, religion, social class, education and family influences (Keough, Zimbardo, & Boyd, 1999; Zeleski, Cycon, & Kurc, 2001; D'Alessio et al., 2003; Worrell and Mello, 2007; Worrell, Mello, and Bhul (2012); Mello et al., 2009). Time represents an important basis for helping us to understand our experiences including shaping our thoughts, decisions and behaviors. According to Zimbardo and Boyd (1999), TP is considered to be a relatively stable individual difference dimension concerning one's relationship to the past, present and future and the attitudinal and behavioral preferences for each temporal frame. In their view, TP is a semi-conscious process in which temporal categories or frames constitute a socio-cognitive variable that influences perceptions and actions by marking them with a temporal composite (Apostolidis, Fieulaine, & Soulé, 2009; Boniwell & Zimbardo, 2004; Keough et al., 1999; Laghi et al., 2008; Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999). Likewise, these past, present and future temporal frames are used in forming everyday expectations, goals, and imaginative views helping individual to give meaning, order and coherence to everyday life events and to personal and social experiences (Carelli, Wiberg, & Wiberg, 2011). It has been suggested that specific temporal categories may be favored or dominant and others may be used too little, leading people to become temporal “biased” and limiting optimal and healthy psychosocial functioning (Boniwell & Zimbardo, 2004; Crockett, Weinman, Hankins, & Marteau, 2009; Keough et al., 1999; Luyckx et al., 2010). The extent to which individuals are future-versus-present oriented depends on social cultural issues (Dawes & Finchilescu, 2002), family and educational context (McInerney, 2004; McInerney, Roche, McInerney, & Marsh, 1997) and also psychological and individual factors, such as self-esteem, achievement and motivation (Becker & Luthar, 2002). Barbarin and Richter (2001) state that “enthusiasm (or lack of) about the future is tempered by the realisation that problems of the past will (not) be resolved easily”. Furthermore, above all during adolescence, the subjective awareness of personal past, present, and future may have implications for several psychosocial outcomes related to identity, motivation, coping, interpersonal interactions and risk behaviors (Adams & Nettle, 2009; Laghi et al., 2008; Webster, 2011; Zimbardo, Keough, & Boyd, 1997). The past time perspective is associated with the focus on family, tradition and continuity of self over time. Generally, adolescents inclined towards past may be excessively conservative, cautions avoiding change and openness. Youths can prefer a past-positive TP reflecting warm and sentimental view of one's past or they can adopt a pastnegative TP focusing on personal experiences that were aversive or noxious (Boniwell & Zimbardo, 2004). Individuals with a dominant present time perspective are primarily oriented towards living for the moment and are inclined to form goals and adopt behaviors that meet immediate desire. Focusing on the instant present life space as the determinant of their actions, they may be most likely to engage in a broad spectrum of high-risk

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behaviors, such as substance abuse (Apostolidis, Fieulaine, Simonin, & Rolland, 2006; Keough et al., 1999; Wills, Sandy, & Yaeger, 2001), unprotected sexual practices (Rothspan & Read, 1996), delinquency (Boyd & Zimbardo, 2005) and risky driving (Zimbardo et al., 1997). They seem to be more responsive to experiences that produce immediate satisfaction, but have lesser reward value over the long term. Moreover, Zimbardo and Boyd (1999) differentiated two types of being predominantly present oriented: a present-hedonistic time perspective characterizes individuals who are inclined towards enjoyment and excitement displaying a high interest in novelty and sensation-seeking; a present-fatalistic orientation describes individuals who believe that future is predestined and cannot be controlled or influenced by action. By contrast, adolescents who endorsed a future time perspective focus on a cost/benefits analysis framed by consideration of abstract options and contingencies. They may be more likely to restrain themselves from engaging in tempting behaviors because of an increased ability in planning and monitoring behavior so as to have an anticipated vision of the effects of current action on future outcomes. These adolescents were found to get successful results both academically and in their careers (Luyckx et al., 2010; Simons, Vansteenkiste, Lens, & Lacante, 2004). 1.3. Aim of the study So, identity formation and planning for the future are conceptualized as interrelated development tasks that adolescents are confronted with (Luyckx et al., 2008, 2010; Marcia, 1993). Even if some authors have focused their attention on the relation between these two variables, they usually investigated only future or present or both them, not taking into account all time frames. Therefore, considering the relevant impact that temporal frames may have on identity formation, the present study was aimed at analyzing the relationship between time perspective and identity status during adolescence. Specifically, in light of previous findings, we hypothesized that some time perspective's dimensions would discriminate adolescents in each identity status. In particular, we hypothesized that diffused adolescents tend to report more often negative past and fatalistic present, and less future orientation. 2. Method 2.1. Participants and procedure The sample consisted of 1300 students (620 boys and 680 girls). The average age of the students was 17.46 (SD = 0.22; range17–19). The schools were selected on the basis of their willingness to participate in the study (N= 12). They were from urban (N= 4), suburban (N= 4) and more rural areas (N= 4) within a small geographic radius, reflecting the full socio-economic spectrum of the region. Participation was preceded by an informed-consent procedure that required active consent from both students and parents. The questionnaires were administered in the classroom during a regular class period and took approximately 25 min to complete. Instructions stated that the questionnaires were voluntary and that responses were anonymous and confidential. All students responded to the same questionnaire packet, with measures administered in counterbalanced order to each group of subjects. 2.2. Measures 2.2.1. Identity status The Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status-Version 2 (EOM-EIS-II; Adams, Bennion, & Huh, 1989) was used to measure ego identity status. The EOM-EIS-II contains 64 items presented on a 6-point Likert scale anchored by 1 (strongly agree) to 6 (strongly

disagree). The instrument assesses the degree of identity achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion within four interpersonal domains (friendships, dating, gender roles, recreation) and four ideological domains (politics, religion, occupation, lifestyle). The Italian version of the instrument shows good reliability coefficients and a factorial structure congruent with the operative definition of the construct (Laghi et al., 2012a,b). In the present study, internal reliability of the EOMEIS-2 ranged from 0.70 to 0.81. 2.2.2. Time perspective The Time Perspective was measured using the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI; Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999) in its Italian validated version for adolescents (Laghi, Baiocco et al., 2009; Laghi, D'Alessio et al., 2009). This instrument consists of twenty-five item Likert-type scale, on which each item has five possible responses (from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’). The ZTPI is a multidimensional scale which measures Time Perspective in three temporal frames: the past, present and future, and the attitude related to each of them. It contains the following 5 subscales: Positive Past (sample item “Familiar childhood sights, sounds, smells often bring back a flood of wonderful memories”; α = .83 in the present study), Negative Past (sample item, “The past has too many unpleasant memories that I prefer not to think”; α = .82 in the present study), Hedonistic Present (sample item, “It's important to put excitement in my life”; α= .84 in the present study), Fatalistic Present (sample item, “Fates determines much in my life”; α = .85 in the present study) and Future (sample item, “I'm able to resist temptations when I know that there is a work to be done”; α= .81 in the present study). Several reviews of time perspective instruments have found the ZTPI to be a valid and reliable measure. The Italian short version of the scale (Appendix 1) has good psychometric properties (internal reliability of the ZTPI ranges from 0.74 to 0.84) and a convergent validity with different measures of attachment security and well-being (Laghi, Baiocco et al., 2009; Laghi, D'Alessio et al., 2009). 2.3. Data analysis The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 18.0) was used to conduct bivariate and multivariate analyses relating to independent variables. The internal consistency of the overall scale and subscales was measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Chi-square tests, were used to examine differences among the four identity groups with respect to sex, and geographic area. Time perspective differences were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Statistical significance was set at the level of p b 0.001 (two-tailed) to control for multiple tests of significance. 3. Results 3.1. Preliminary analyses and identity status membership We assign identity statuses to participants with the standardization technique suggested by Adams et al. (1989) and used in other studies concerning identity development (Bishop, Weisgram, Holleque, Lund, & Wheeler-Anderson, 2005). The subjects with a score of one standard deviation above the mean of an identity status were classified with that status. When respondents scored one deviation above the mean on two (or more) identity statuses we assigned them to the lower of the two (or more) identity statuses. This procedure was based on a rank ordering of the statuses from most to least mature: achieved, moratorium, foreclosed and diffused. Then, applying the same procedures, participants were classified into separate identity statuses for each identity domain. In common with most studies employing EOMEIS-2, 1.100 adolescents (84.62% of the participants) fell into one of the “pure” statuses (achievement, foreclosure, moratorium and diffusion). Participants

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with scores above the mean on two (or three) identity statuses (N= 30; 2.31%) are assigned to the lower of the two (or three) identity status; participants with scores falling less than one standard deviation above the mean on all four measures (N= 170; 13.08%) are scored as the low-profile moratorium. As these adolescents seem to waver between different options, they resemble the moratorium status. According to Solomontos-Kountouri and Hurry (2008) “pure” moratorium and low-profile moratorium were treated as a single moratorium status. Using the procedure previously explained, the identity classifications were as follow: 245 individuals (18.8%) were classified as identity achieved, 677 individuals (52.1%) were classified as moratoriums, 193 individuals (14.8%) were classified as foreclosed, 185 individuals (14.2%) were classified as diffused. Moratorium status had the highest percentage of participants as a result of the inclusion of low-profile participants. In a series of chi-square tests, we examined whether there were significant differences among the four identity groups with respect to sex, and geographic area. The significant differences were found only for gender [χ2 = (3) = 77.64, p b .001] and not for geographic area [χ2 = (6) = 1.19, p = .84]. Males were more likely to be classified as diffused (16.1% of males vs. 12.5% of females; R = 1.9) while females were more likely to be classified as moratorium (41.3% of males vs. 55.2% of females; R =2) and foreclosed (6.0% of males vs. 22.9% of females; R = 5.5). 3.2. Identity status and time perspective We conducted comparisons of time perspective dimensions across identity status groups. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) with Bonferroni's correction was conducted. Gender was used as covariate. The α level was divided by the number of statistical tests performed (5 for time perspective dimensions; the adjusted p values were α = 0.01). For this multivariate analysis, Wilks' λ criterion was used. The analysis revealed main effect for identity status groups (λ = 0.89; F(15,3564) = 9.55; p b .0001; partial eta squared = 0.03). The covariate was significant (λ= 0.98; F(5,1291) =4.24; p b .0001; partial eta squared= 0.01). Results from the univariate tests (ANCOVA) and post-hoc Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparisons revealed that the identity status groups differed on the subscales of Positive Past (F(3, 1296) = 9.18 p b .0001; partial eta squared = 0.02), Negative Past (F(3,1296)= 13.73; p b .0001; partial eta squared = 0.03), Fatalistic Present (F(3,1296) = 26.26; p b .0001; partial eta squared = 0.05), and Future (F(3,1296) = 7.95; p b .0001; partial eta squared = 0.02). Estimated means, adjusted for gender, are reported in Table 1. Consistent with our hypothesis, post hoc test revealed that adolescents categorized as achieved had significantly higher mean levels of Positive Past than Moratorium group that obtained higher mean levels than foreclosed and diffused adolescents who did not differ significantly from either. Regarding Negative Past and Fatalistic Present, diffused adolescents had significantly higher mean levels

Table 1 Differences between identity status groups on the ZTPI subscales. A

M

Achieved M Time perspective Positive Past Negative Past Hedonistic Present Fatalistic Present Future

19.56 12.25 17.69 12.04 17.96

a a

a a

F

D

Moratorium

Foreclosure

Diffusion

SD

M

SD

M

SD

M

3.48 3.99 3.04 3.69 3.75

18.41 13.09 17.63 12.94 17.30

4.38 4.11 3.08 3.34 3.61

17.97 13.82 17.76 13.69 18.77

4.22 4.02 3.27 3.66 3.46

17.93 14.77 17.81 15.21 17.08

b b

b b

c c

c a

SD c d

d c

4.30 4.50 2.97 4.01 4.30

Note: Post-hoc Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparisons (p b .0001): Different letters indicate mean differences between groups.

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than foreclosed adolescents, who obtained higher mean levels than moratorium groups. Adolescents categorized as achieved obtained the lowest mean levels than other groups. Adolescents categorized as achieved and foreclosed had significantly higher mean levels of Future than Moratorium group that obtained higher mean levels than diffused adolescents. Additionally, correlations were performed between time perspective subscales and identity status dimensions. Variables significantly correlated with Achievement were Positive Past (r= .14, p b .05), Negative Past (r= −.11, p b .05), and Future (r=.38, p b .01). Variables significantly correlated with Moratorium were Positive Past (r= .11, p b .05), Negative Past (r= −.13, p b .05), and Future (r= .11, p b .05). Variables significantly correlated with Foreclosure were Positive Past (r=.13, pb .05), and Future (r=.20, pb .05). Variables significantly correlated with Diffusion were Positive Past (r=−.32, pb .01), Negative Past (r=.33, p b .01), Fatalistic Present (r =.22, p b .01) and Future (r=−.32, pb .01). 4. Discussion and conclusions During the transition to adulthood, planning for the future and identity formation represent interrelated developmental tasks that adolescents are confronted with (Luyckx et al., 2010; Marcia, 1993). This one is the first study analyzing the association between time perspective in all its dimensions and identity status according Marcia's model. The pattern of results reported across this study has provided additional information regarding this strong association suggesting that time perspective appears to be a salient dimension when exploring the cognitive correlates of adolescents' identity status. Apparently, making strong identity commitments seems to be associated with adolescent dominant attitude to work for future goals and their attendant rewards and the capability to foresee consequences and probable outcomes of present actions or decisions. Also, identity achievement status generally showed realistic and planned attitude to the future in comparison with other identity statuses among adolescents (Marcia, 1993). In particular, it seems plausible that youths who extended their time perspective well into the future could be more inclined to face self-defining identity issues more pro actively preparing themselves for their adult roles and their academic or working future (Luyckx et al., 2010). Future oriented adolescents' tendency to invest in the construction of their future seems to go hand to hand with proactive exploration and the formation of identity commitment over time. At the same time, high level of exploration and commitment characterizing identity achieved status seemed to foster and stimulate adolescents to adopt future orientations and lead them to decreases in both presented-oriented time perspective, especially present-fatalistic one. Similarly, other authors (Bohart, 1993; Luyckx et al., 2010) have already argued that being future oriented characterized by internal locus of control may be a fundamental asset for adolescents' development allowing a sense of agency and the making of choices. Likewise, foreclosed adolescents adopted a future time perspective too, although probably not in a self-endorsed and profound way as identity achieved ones considering their predominant normative orientation. One possible interpretation of this finding could be that the goal directed style and the efficiency of future oriented youths further them to invest in the construction of the individual's future and in the formation of identity commitments over time, and vice versa, despite the lack of previous exploration. By contrast, diffused adolescents reported negative experiences in the past, a lower future orientation and a greater inclination to fatalism compared to others. They showed to be inclined to proceed on a situation-by-situation basis and have no organized or coherent vision of their future (Berzonsky, 1993; Berzonsky & Neimeyer,

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1994) as well as they view themselves being predetermined by fate and factors over which they have little or no control. Procrastination, delay, and self-centered action could negatively affect the development of the ability to effectively regulate and control actions in relation to life goals leading adolescents to react to situational demands by assuming present-fatalistic perspective rather than long-term stable orientation. Contextually, present-fatalistic adolescents in general feel helpless and hopeless which could leave them unmotivated to face identity relevant issues and to commit strongly to certain identity choices (Laghi, Lonigro, Baiocco, & Baumgartner, 2012; Luyckx et al., 2010). A pro active search for a personalized identity may be also inhibited by a negative and aversive view of the past that our findings showed to be significantly associated to diffused adolescents. Thus, although further research has to be encouraged to examine similar research questions in different settings, the current results seem to confirm that identity formation and time perspective seem to be interdependent developmental process mutually reinforcing during adolescence. Certainly, results of this study should be considered in the context of several limitations, although they give an important contribution to the literature concerning identity resolution. First, all of the information concerning experiences and behaviors of participants was obtained through self-report measures. Although questionnaires are most appropriate to gather information about internal and subjective processes such as identity formation and time perspective, the only reliance on a single informant may inflate results. Second, the cross sectional design of the research did not permit to investigate directionality in the relationships we examined restricting the casual inferences that might be drawn from the results. Results need to be examined with cause effect research, longitudinal research or both to provide the potential long-term effects of time perspective and the consequences of a temporal bias on the process of identity formation in adolescents. A goal for future research could be to investigate the direction of developmental processes such as those examined here, in terms of cause and effect, as well as proving the potential long-term mutually effects of both time perspective and identity resolution in adolescence. Despite these limitations, we believe that this study has social work practice and policy implications. The current results could be helpful to youth service to design programs concerned with promoting positive adolescent development. Social–educational interventions could be thought integrating simultaneous treatments on both adaptive coping strategies for dealing with distress associated with identity issues and cognitive–motivational skills involved in time perspective formation. The development of the capacity to think about future, and plan for activities beyond the present moment may help adolescents to face negative affect linked to identity resolution and to adequately cope with the task of constructing and reconstructing an individualized sense of identity. Decision making and planning are important skills throughout the lifespan, so it is very important to upgrade them during adolescence. Particularly, in order to facilitate identity resolution and prevent psycho-social dysfunction, children and youth services should assist the adolescent – above all the disadvantaged youth – to gain a perspective of changes in society and guide the adolescent to an anticipated future. Furthermore, in treatment programs in which developmental change in ego identity are desired and expected, time span may be considered a useful measure of change in training paths having two central advantages. It is relatively immune to placebo effects and there is increasing evidence that both prospective and retrospective time spans reflect individuals' attitudinal and behavioral preferences for each temporal frame.

Appendix 1 List of items of Italian short version of ZTPI for adolescents and corresponding values subscales.

N.

Scale Item

1. 2.

PN F

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

PF PP PH PN F PF PP

10. PH 11. PN 12. F 13. PF 14. PP 15 PH 16. PN 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

F PF PP PH PN F

23. PF 24. PP 25. PH

Painful past experiences keep being replayed in the mind. (16) When I want to achieve something, I set goals and consider specific means for reaching those goals. (10) Often luck pays off better than hard work. (53) On balance, there is much more good to recall than bad in my past. (11) It is important to put excitement in my life. (26) I think about the bad things that have happened to me in the past. (50) Before making a decision, I weigh the costs against the benefits. (30) Fate determines much in my life. (3) Family childhood, sights, sounds, smells often bring back a flood of wonderful memories. (2) I feel that it is more important to enjoy what are you doing than to get work on done on time. (28) I've made mistakes in the past that I wish I could undo. (27) Meeting tomorrow's deadlines and doing other necessary work comes before tonight's play. (13) It doesn't make sense to worry about the future, since there is nothing that I can do about it anyway. (39) Happy memories of good times spring readily to mind. (20) I prefer friends that are spontaneous rather than predictable. (48). The past has too many unpleasant memories that I prefer not to think about. (25) I meet my obligations to friends and authorities on time. (21) Since whatever will be will be, it doesn't really matter what I do. (14) I get nostalgic about my childhood. (29) I find myself getting swept up in the excitement of the moment. (46) I've taken my share of abuse and rejection in the past. (22) I'm able to resist temptations when I know that there is a work to be done. (45) You can't really plan for the future because the things change so much. (37). It gives me pleasure to think about my past. (7) I try to live my life as fully as possible, one day at a time. (17)

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