Further evidence for the domain specificity of Consideration of Future Consequences in adolescents and University students

Within the study of temporal psychology, researchers have classified individuals as 'past', 'present', or 'future' depending on how they respond to items in a variety of scales. This labelling implicitly assumes that if an individual is 'future', they are equally 'future' in all domains of life. However, emerging research has suggested that orientation to the future might be domain-specific. Building on previous research with adolescents only, we used an adolescent (N = 243) sample, and a University (N = 173) sample to further examine the psychometric validity, internal consistency, and construct validity of the Domain Specific Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) Scale. Results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed acceptable validity and internal consistency for scale scores. Domain specificity was demonstrated via correlations between Domain Specific CFC scores and scores on other future-orientated constructs. Endorsing self-reported behavior in each domain was also associated with significantly higher scores on Domain Specific CFC factors, in models adjusted for future temporal focus score, subjective life expectancy, and both gender, and sample. With evidence emerging for the domain specificity of CFC scores, it may be time for this literature to examine domain specificity in all constructs.