Building a Theoretical Framework of Temporal Self-Perceptions Among Emerging Adults: The Significance of Demographics and a Global Crisis on Psychological and Achievement Benefits

Emerging adults (i.e., individuals from 18 to 29 years old) are at a unique stage in their development and are repeatedly presented with decisions that have important consequences that unfold over time (i.e., intertemporal decisions). Chapter 1 of this dissertation provides a brief overview of emerging adulthood as a developmental stage and presents a rationale for the importance of understanding the relationship between temporal self-perceptions and longitudinal outcomes in emerging adults. Then, in four articles (Chapters 2-5), this dissertation provides evidence for the connection between temporal self-perceptions and positive downstream consequences in college students (i.e., a subsample of emerging adults). Specifically, Chapter 2, examines longitudinal changes in perception of the future self through the first two years of college, how those changes predict downstream academic success, and identifies sex differences in those relationships. Chapters 3 and 4 then extend the research on longitudinal outcomes of future self-perception to downstream outcomes during a global crisis (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic). Chapter 3 explores the role of perception of the future self as a potential protective and promotive factor for longitudinal mental health during the pandemic. Chapter 4 presents a study during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic that investigates a vivid view of the future self at the start of college as a resource to support downstream resilience for graduating college students—especially for students who are already at an economic disadvantage (i.e., low socioeconomic status). Chapter 5 then broadens the understanding of these relationships by testing the relationship between continuity between temporal selves (i.e., past-to-future) and psychological well-being. Finally, Chapter 6 incorporates the reported findings into a theoretical model, reviews the literature on the constructs to extend the model beyond college students to emerging adults as a developmental group, and discusses avenues for future research.