Characteristics of subjective perception of psychological time in individuals with alcohol and other substance use dependence

Subjective perception of psychological time is one of the most significant aspects of individual functioning. The results of multiple studies suggest that characteristics of psychological time perception affect individual’s ability for self-regulation, including tendency to adhere to healthy lifestyle. Thus, examination of characteristics of psychological time perception in individuals with substance use dependence might have theoretical and practical significance. This article presents the outcomes of the study aimed at exploring characteristics of subjective perception of psychological time in a group of patients (n=111) undergoing treatment for alcohol and other substance use dependence. The results suggest that the prevalent time perspectives in the group of patients were Future and Present Hedonistic. Gender of the participants didn’t have any significant impact on the frequency of occurrence of the prevalent time perspectives. However, patients with alcohol dependence had significantly higher occurrence of prevalent Past Positive time perspective as compared to patients with other substance use dependence. Participants in the study significantly differed from normative sample on the following time characteristics - activity, affective quality, magnitude, and structure. The measures of Semantic Differential of Time were significantly affected by gender and type of dependence. Practical implications of the findings are discussed.