The role of temporal distancing on the sense of meaning in life among individuals experiencing daily stressors.

Abstract

Existing evidence has indicated that adopting a temporally distanced perspective can enhance the search for and presence of meaning in life. However, this effect may not hold among individuals facing highly stressful situations, as meaning-search might be considered dysfunctional in such contexts. Furthermore, prior research has not distinguished between near and distant perspectives when examining the impact of temporal distancing on meaning-search and meaning-presence. To address these gaps, this study utilized a prescreening stage (N = 972) to recruit participants dealing with unresolved stressors of moderate-to-high severity. A pre-test and post-test design was employed, with participants randomly assigned to either near-future or distant-future conditions. The results (n = 129) showed that temporal distancing manipulation increased meaning-presence scores across both conditions. Meaning-search scores were significantly lower at post-test compared to pre-test within the distant-future condition but not within the near-future condition. By examining the differential effects of near-future versus distant-future perspectives and recruiting individuals experiencing moderate-to-severe unresolved stressors, this study sheds light on how temporal distancing serves as a coping strategy, enabling individuals to maintain a relatively balanced sense of meaning in life when confronted with significant stressors.