Comparison of time perspective dimensions in students with and without existential anxiety

This study aimed to compare the dimensions of time perspective in students with and without existential anxiety. The research method was causal-comparative. the statistical population included all students of Ardabil Islamic Azad University in the academic year 2020-2021. The research sample consisted of 80 students (40 students with existential anxiety and 40 students without existential anxiety) who were selected by the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using the Existence Anxiety Questionnaire (Masoudi Sani et al., 2015) and the Time Perspective Questionnaire (Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999). Data analysis was performed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The results of data analysis showed that there is a significant difference between the students with and without existence anxiety in terms of the past-negative, hedonistic present, and fatalistic present perspectives (P <0.01). the mean scores of students with existential anxiety in these three variables were higher than students without existential anxiety. But there was no significant difference between the positive past, future, and transcendent future perspectives in students with and without existential anxiety. Therefore, the obtained results can indicate the great importance of negative past, hedonistic present, and fatalistic time perspectives in distinguishing students with existential anxiety from normal students.