Adolescent and Adult Time Inventory-Time Attitudes Scale–Chinese Version (AATI-TA)

Abstract

The Adolescent and Adult Time Inventory-Time Attitudes Scale—Chinese Version (AATI-TA) is a validated adaptation developed by Chiang and Chen (2024), translating the original AATI-TA instruments (Mello et al., 2016; Worrell et al., 2013). This inventory is utilized to measure six distinct dimensions of Time Attitudes: past positive, past negative, present positive, present negative, future positive, and future negative orientations.

The scale’s primary application was to investigate the influence of these temporal perspectives on mental health outcomes, specifically PTSD symptomatology and COVID-19-related fears, among the adult population in Taiwan during the initial major outbreak of the pandemic.

Keywords

Adolescent Time Perspective, Adult Time Perspective, Chinese Adaptation, COVID-19 Outbreak, COVID-19-Related Fears, Future Negative, Future Positive, Past Negative, Past Positive, Present Negative, Present Positive, Psychological Health, PTSD Symptomatology, Structural Validity, Time Attitudes.

Authors

Chiang, Wei-Chun, Chen, Sue-Huei

Purpose

The central purpose of developing and validating the Chinese version of the AATI-TA was to establish a psychometrically sound tool capable of assessing complex relationships between an individual’s temporal perspective and adverse psychological reactions during acute periods of widespread stress, such as a pandemic.

Specifically, the instrument was designed to assess concurrent levels of PTSD symptoms and COVID-19-related fears, and to longitudinally track symptom changes among cohorts identified by various Time Attitude profiles throughout the COVID-19 crisis in Taiwan.

Construct

The AATI-TA (Chinese Version) measures the psychological construct of Time Attitudes, which encapsulates an individual’s subjective orientation toward and perception of the past, present, and future. This construct is essential for understanding how individuals process temporal information and react to life events.

The scale is structured around six correlated yet distinct factors, providing a comprehensive view of temporal orientation:

• Past positive
• Present positive
• Future positive
• Past negative
• Present negative
• Future negative

The application of this scale links these temporal orientations directly to measures of Psychological Health within the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Validity

The validation process primarily focused on establishing the Structural Validity of the translated instrument. This involved rigorous statistical testing to confirm that the factor structure of the Chinese version accurately reflected the theoretical model established by the original AATI-TA studies.

The results strongly supported the hypothesized structure, confirming that the six-factor model—differentiating between positive and negative orientations across the past, present, and future—provided the optimal fit for the empirical data collected from the Taiwanese adult sample, demonstrating cross-cultural consistency.

Reliability

The AATI-TA (Chinese Version) demonstrated high levels of reliability, indicating that the scores are stable and consistent. Reliability was assessed through internal consistency measures across all subscales.

The internal consistency, calculated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, ranged from 0.81 to 0.93 across the six time attitude subscales. These values exceed conventional thresholds for psychological research, confirming the reliability of the scale for assessing temporal attitudes in this population.

Factor Analysis

A comprehensive statistical evaluation was conducted using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to empirically test the scale’s underlying structure. The CFA was crucial in verifying that the six latent factors accounted for the variance observed in the item responses.

The CFA results indicated that the proposed six-factor model achieved excellent statistical fit, evidenced by key indices (χ² = 766.231, p < .001, df = 358, TLI = 0.946, CFI = 0.952, SRMR = 0.045, RMSEA = 0.057, 90% CI = 0.051, 0.062). One item was identified as having a low standardized coefficient and was subsequently eliminated to enhance the overall factor structure integrity of the final scale.

Instrument

Test Type: Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, anchored from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree).

Language Available: Chinese (Mandarin), based on the original English versions of the AATI-TA.

Population Group: Adults

Age Group: Adulthood (18+), specifically including Young Adulthood (18–29), Thirties (30–39), and Middle Age (40–64).

Population Details: Respondents were adults located in Taiwan, studied during the first major wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Test Methodology: Electronic administration.

Keywords

Adolescent Time Perspective, Adult Time Perspective, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Cronbach’s alpha, COVID-19 Pandemic, Psychological Health, Structural Validity, Taiwan, Time Attitudes.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in the source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (for Chen, Sue-Huei)

Correspondence Address: Chen, Sue-Huei: National Taiwan University, Department of Psychology, Taipei, Taiwan, Province of China, 10617.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions and Fees: Information regarding specific permissions and associated fees for scale usage is not detailed in the source material. Prospective users should contact the corresponding author, Sue-Huei Chen, for official usage rights and licensing information.

Test Year: 2024 (Year of the scale’s validation and publication of the Chinese version study).

Files: No file is available for download.

Reference’s

• Chiang, W.-C., & Chen, S.-H. (2024). Time attitudes affecting psychological health during COVID-19 pandemic: A two-wave, six-month prospective study in Taiwan. Current Psychology: A Journal for Diverse Perspectives on Diverse Psychological Issues, 43(18), 16914–16926. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04643-9
• Mello, Z. R., Worrell, F. C., & Zeleski, A. (2016). The Adolescent and Adult Time Inventory-Time Attitudes Scale (AATI-TA). [Original source reference].
• Worrell, F. C., Mello, Z. R., & Zeleski, A. (2013). The Adolescent and Adult Time Inventory (AATI). [Original source reference].

Items of the Adolescent and Adult Time Inventory-Time Attitudes Scale–Chinese Version (AATI-TA)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The specific items comprising the Adolescent and Adult Time Inventory-Time Attitudes Scale—Chinese Version (AATI-TA) were not provided in the source content. Only the six factors (Past Positive, Present Positive, Future Positive, Past Negative, Present Negative, Future Negative) are listed.