The Efficacy of Time Perspective Therapy in Reducing Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in Females with Breast Cancer

Background: Breast cancer is the biggest risk factor that endangers women's health. It is considered the highest stress-causing disease due to the unpleasant effects of disease on different aspects of patients’ life. Breast cancer is commonly associated with the symptoms of post-traumatic stress and its comorbidities such as anxiety and depression. It appears that time perspective therapy (TPT), as a new psychological treatment, can reduce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression in females with breast cancer. Methods: This is a randomized controlled trial conducted from February to September 2019. A total of 30 patients with breast cancer were selected through a convenience sampling technique and were randomly divided into the control and treatment groups. The latter group attended 6-week sessions (each session lasted 90 minutes long) to receive TPT. To conduct pretest and posttest, all participants in the two groups were asked to fill out the following questionnaires: (1) Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI); (2) The Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL); (3) Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI); and (4) the second version of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to evaluate the effects of treatment. A P-value smaller than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Data analysis of 28 patients from the experimental and control groups showed that TPT significantly reduced the symptoms of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression in the treatment group (P < 0.001 for symptoms of post-traumatic stress and anxiety, and P = 0.002 for depression). Such a difference was not seen in the control group. Conclusions: TPT may be an effective approach to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression in Iranian women with breast cancer. Further investigations are required to confirm these findings, which may in turn help heath care professionals use TPT to promote the mental health of females with breast cancer.

The Predictive Utility of Valuing the Future for Smoking Cessation: Findings from the ITC 4 Country Surveys

Background: Delay discounting (DD) and time perspective (TP) are conceptually related constructs that are theorized as important determinants of the pursuit of future outcomes over present inclinations. This study explores their predictive relationships for smoking cessation. Methods: 5006 daily smokers at a baseline wave provided 6710 paired observations of quitting activity between two waves. Data are from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) smoking and vaping surveys with samples from the USA, Canada, England, and Australia, across three waves conducted in 2016, 2018 and 2020. Smokers were assessed for TP and DD, plus smoking-specific predictors at one wave of cessation outcomes defined as either making a quit attempt and/or success among those who tried to quit which was ascertained at the subsequent survey wave. Results: TP and DD were essentially uncorrelated. TP predicted making quit attempts, both on its own and controlling for other potential predictors but was negatively associated with quit success. By contrast, DD was not related to making quit attempts, but high DD predicted relapse. The presence of financial stress at baseline resulted in some moderation of effects. Conclusions: Understanding the mechanisms of action of TP and DD can advance our understanding of, and ability to enhance, goal-directed behavioural change. TP appears to contribute to future intention formation, but not necessarily practical thought of how to achieve goals. DD is more likely an index of capacity to effectively generate competing future possibilities in response to immediate gratification.

Estimating the Efficiency of the “Proactive Behavior Training” in the Formation of the Doctor’s Adherence to Preventive Work

Today the public health service faces numerous pressing challenges, including not only treatment, but also prevention of diseases. A theoretical analysis of materials on this topic shows that insufficient adherence of doctors to preventive work can be associated not only with a high level of their professional burnout, but also with their usual reactive coping strategies, which is caused by the traditional conservatism of the medical community. Previous studies have shown that the solution to the described problem may lie in the formation of a system of proactive coping behaviors and reduction of professional burnout among doctors. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficiency of the Proactive Behavior Training developed by V.Yu. Slabinsky and N.M. Voishcheva in the formation of a doctors adherence to preventive work. The sample consisted of 125 people (112 women, 13 men). Their age range was from 24 to 68 years. The work experience ranged from less than 1 year to 45 years. The experimental group and the control group consisted of 64 and 61 people respectively. The research was conducted using the following techniques: Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI); Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI); Proactive Coping Inventory (PCI); BAK conflict; projective test My job; and case method (unstructured cases). The statistical analysis was carried out using the Wilcoxon test for compare the test results before and after the training, and the Fisher criterion (*-criterion) for check statistically significant differences in the frequency of occurrence of the selected criteria. The results of the case method were processed by content analysis. It was revealed that, in primary care physicians (PCPs), the Proactive Behavior Training develops a system of proactive coping strategies (proactive overcoming, reflexive overcoming, preventive overcoming, seeking instrumental support and seeking emotional support); it reduces the level of professional burnout (increasing professional success and reducing emotional exhaustion) and potentiates the positive past time perspective. A positive influence on the emotional and imaginative perception of physicians of their professional activities was found, which is confirmed by the results of the projective test My job. It was noted that the participants in the training developed such traits as diligence, optimism and tenderness, which contributes to the manifestation of a more humane attitude towards their patients, and, as a consequence, a greater efficiency in their preventive activities. These results, as well as the content analysis data for the texts of the tasks completed by the doctors and reviews obtained from the heads of the medical organizations, the employees of which participated in the training, confirm the efficiency of the Proactive Behavior Training in developing the PCPs adherence to preventive work.

Methodological approaches to morbidity forecasting in military educational organizations

The article discusses aspects of the application of extrapolation and factor approaches to epidemiological forecasting, outlines the limitations and features of their application in relation to the prediction of morbidity.It is shown that when using an extrapolation approach, it becomes possible to predict the most likely numerical characteristics of morbidity in a certain time perspective. At the same time, the accuracy of the obtained forecast depends on the length of the time series and the type of long-term dynamics of morbidity. In turn, the trends formed by the results of forecasting artificially level the critical levels of morbidity that characterize individual periods of time and are fundamentally important for understanding the real picture.The factor approach is based on the prediction of morbidity levels using a certain set of factors. The difficulty of using the factor approach is noted due to the stochasticity of the epidemic process.Based on the results of a retrospective epidemiological analysis of the personalized morbidity of cadets of the Military Medical Academy, the heterogeneity of military contingents in susceptibility to acute respiratory infections of the upper respiratory tract is shown.From the standpoint of the academician V.D .Belyakov’s et al. theory of the parasitic systems self-regulation, the conclusion is made about the expediency of using a factor approach for epidemiological forecasting of morbidity in organized collectives. It is proposed to use the state of individual resistance as one of the main factors determining the epidemic well-being of organized collectives.The results of the development and testing of an electronic database that allows epidemiological surveillance of the morbidity of trainees and its linear prediction are presented.

Sex Differences in Brain Structure Account for the Sexual Distinction on Balanced Time Perspective

Sex differences in behaviour and cognition have been widely observed, however, little is known about such differences in maintaining a balanced time perspective or their potential underlying neural substrates. To answer the above questions, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, time perspective was assessed in 1,913 college students, including 771 males and 1,092 females, and demonstrated that females had a significantly more balanced time perspective than males. In Study 2, 58 males and 47 females underwent assessment of time perspective and structural brain imaging. Voxel-based morphometry analysis and cortical thickness analysis were used to analyse the structural imaging data. Results showed that compared with males, females demonstrated a more balanced time perspective, which primarily related to lower grey matter volume in left precuneus, right cerebellum, right putamen and left supplementary motor area. Analysis of cortical thickness failed to reveal any significant sex differences. Furthermore, the sex difference in grey matter volume of left precuneus, right cerebellum, right putamen and left supplementary motor area could account for the difference in balanced time perspective between males and females. The findings deepen our understanding of sex differences in human cognition and their potential neural signature, and may inform tailored interventions to support a balanced time perspective in daily life.

Yorùbá Films in Time Perspective: Past, Present, and Future

This essay (re)views the development of Yoruba films according to the Yoruba traditional worldview about time: a term used synonymously with life, season or period, for it is not linear but cyclical, just as life, it is not straight. Therefore, the present trend in the Yoruba film industry, whereby skilled film producers now have their films premiered at and release to only cinemas where they could be watched legally and piracy is prevented, is seen in this paper as a return to the origin of the development of the Yoruba films. The Yoruba films started in 1976 at the cinema (past), metamorphosed into video mode in the 1990s which is still in place (present) and gradually going back to the cinema and the stage mode (future from now), which was its origin because the Ogunde dramatic tradition: a stage medium, is agreed as Yoruba film precursor.

Positive Psychology in Times of Pandemic—Time Perspective as a Moderator of the Relationship between Resilience and Meaning in Life

Resilience and meaning in life are significant indicators of psychological well-being and health, which are particularly important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, they have been explored by a growing number of scientists. There has been a research gap, however, that fails to show that time perspectives also have a significant impact on the perception and building of different life aspects. The current study investigated the associations between resilience, time perspectives and meaning in life and examined the moderating role of time perspective in the relationship between resilience and meaning in life. Methods: Participants of this cross-sectional study were 363 adults aged 18-70. Resilience Measurement Scale (SPP-25), the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), and the Purpose in Life Questionnaire (PIL) were used. Results: The findings confirmed a positive relationship between resilience, meaning in life, and positive time perspectives (Present Hedonistic and Future) and a negative link with Past Negative and Present Fatalistic perspectives. The linear regression analyses showed that Past Negative and Past Positive perspectives significantly moderated the relationship between resilience and meaning in life. The moderating effect was also confirmed in the case of past time perspectives only. Conclusions: The findings indicate the relevance of positive resources, such as resilience and positive perception of the past, in keeping the meaning in life. Understanding the effect of psychological strengths in the context of the pandemic time can be a key to providing intervention and therapeutic services fostering mental health and well-being.