title: Assessing future expectations and the two-dimensional model of affect in an Italian population.
abstract: Future-directed thinking has been described as part of two underlying systems that integrate dimensions of affect, motivational systems, orientation to the future, and future expectations, which are initiated at the cognitive, affective, biological, behavioral, and motivational levels. The main aim of the present study is to test the two underlying frameworks model and explore future expectations in a general Italian-speaking population (N=345). Therefore, the second aim of the present paper is to confirm the factorial structure of the Subjective Probability Task (SPT; MacLeod et al., 1996), a questionnaire designed to assess specific positive and negative orientations towards the future. Results showed that the SPT has good psychometric properties and it is a reliable instrument to assess future-directed thinking. Moreover, our findings confirmed the role of future expectancies as cognitive correlates of depression and anxiety. Differently from previous studies (Clark and Watson, 1991; MacLeod et al., 1996), our results did not confirm that depression was characterized by low positive affect. We believe this paper contributes to the understanding of future expectancies and their relation with anxiety and depression, and will help to expand the availability of an instrument to assess future directed thinking.
authors.affiliation: Dpto. Personalidad, Evaluación y Tratamientos Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Valencia, Avenida Blasco Ibañez 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: guadalupemolinari@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Corno
authors.affiliation: Dpto. Psicología Básica, Clínica, y Psicobiología, Universitat Jaume I, Edifici d'Investigació II, 1ª planta, Av. Sos Baynat, s/n, 12071 Castelló de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: Guadalupe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Molinari
authors.affiliation: Dpto. Personalidad, Evaluación y Tratamientos Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Valencia, Avenida Blasco Ibañez 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa Maria
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Baños
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013850:Thinking; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Future-directed thinking; Negative affect; Positive affect