Time perspectives as mediators of the associations between socio-economic status and health behaviours in older Japanese adults

Abstract

Objective: Few studies have used time perspective (TP) theory to examine the factors mediating the association between socio-economic status (SES) and health behaviours (i.e. the psychological mechanisms that underlie SES differences in health behaviours). The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effects of TPs on the relationship between SES and health behaviours in older Japanese adults. Design: In total, 761 participants living in the Tokyo metropolitan area participated in face-to-face interviews in 2016. Outcome measures: Health behaviours were measured using three indicators: participation in exercise, healthy dietary habits and smoking status. SES was composed of educational attainment and annual income. TPs were measured using the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, which consisted of five subcategories: the past-negative, past-positive, present-hedonistic, present-fatalistic and future perspectives. Results: Among these five subcategories, none mediated both SES and health behaviours. Conclusion: TPs might not contribute to the appearance of SES differences in health behaviours in older adults.

Keywords:

• Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory
• future perspective
• participation in exercise
• healthy dietary habits
• non-smoking

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Data availability

Raw data were generated at the Institute for Gerontology, J. F. Oberlin University. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author [H. S.] on request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI under Grant number 21119005.