The consideration of future consequences: scale dimensionality and domain specificity

The Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) is an individual difference construct describing the extent to which individuals consider the immediate versus future outcomes of present-day behaviour, and the extent to which they are influenced by these potential outcomes. The construct is measured using a 14-item scale, which consists of seven items assessing concern for future outcomes of behaviour and seven items measuring concern for relatively immediate outcomes. Over the past 25 years, CFC literature has been increasing in volume and scope. However, there are on-going empirical, measurement and conceptual issues in the field. The aims of the current thesis were to address these by: (a) reviewing and synthesising existing evidence of associations between CFC and health-related behaviour, (b) examining the factor structure of the CFC-14 scale, (c) testing the concept of domain specificity in the CFC construct, and ( d) examining regulatory focus as a potential mediator of the link between CFC and health behaviour. Chapter 2 presents a meta-analysis of studies examining associations between CFC and three distinct categories of health-related behaviour: (a) health promotive, (b) illness prevention/detection, and ( c) health risk behaviour. The findings indicated a reliable, albeit small, association between CFC scores and all three behaviour categories. Chapter 3 presents an empirical examination of CFC scale dimensionality and domain specificity in the CFC construct. Five domain-specific adaptations of the general CFC-14 scale were developed to measure CFC across five life domains: Health, work, the environment, money and academia. The two-factor model emerged as the best fitting model, indicating the validity of distinguishing between the CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate subscales in the general and domain-specific CFC scales. Domain-specific CFC subscales were the strongest correlates of self-reported behaviour in each domain, relative to the general CFC subscales. Chapter 4 extended the examination of domain specificity in CFC to a sixth domain; driving. The findings support those presented in the previous chapter; the two-factor model emerged as the best fitting model within the driving-specific CFC-14 scale, and relative to the general CFC subscales, driving-specific CFC-F and CFC-I were the strongest correlates of self-reported driving behaviour. Chapter 5 presents an empirical examination of the validity of a proposed mediation model which positions regulatory focus as a mediator of the link between health-specific CFC and health-related attitudes, intentions and behaviour. The proposed model fit the data poorly. However, when regulatory focus was removed, model fit improved and results showed differential associations between the health-specific CFC subscales and exercise and eating behaviours. In summary, this thesis demonstrates a reliable association between CFC and health behaviour and evidences the bidimensional and domain-specific nature of the CFC construct. The findings also indicate that when CFC is measured in a domain-specific way, regulatory focus may not meaningfully contribute to the explanation of why individual differences in CFC relate to health behaviour. The results hold theoretical and practical implications for understanding the nature of the CFC construct and how it may be usefully applied to facilitate behaviour change.