Future Outlook Inventory (FOI) - Subject Baseline
This measure appears in the following time-points: Baseline.
Related Construct
Description of Measure
The 15-item Future Outlook Inventory used in this study was developed by Cauffman and Woolard (1999; unpublished), using items from the Life Orientation Task (Scheier & Carver, 1985), the Zimbardo Time Perspective Scale (Zimbardo, 1980), and the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale (Strathman, Gleicher, Boninger, & Edwards, 1994). The Future Outlook Inventory asks participants to rank from 1 to 4 (1= Never True to 4= Always True) the degree to which each statement reflects how they usually are (e.g., I will keep working at difficult, boring tasks if I know they will help me get ahead later). Higher scores indicate a greater degree of future consideration and planning.
Initial psychometric properties for this measure were established with a non-incarcerated sample. With that sample, the reliability coefficient = .71 and the measure correlated with self-reports of risk perception among high school and college students. Using the Pathways baseline sample, a one-factor CFA model was fit to the data, allowing measurement error for two items to correlate. The values from this analysis are as follows: alpha: .68; NFI: .96; NNFI: .96; CFI: .97; RMSEA: .03. Additionally, the Chronbach's alpha for Mexican American youth (N=334) at baseline only is .67.
One score is computed from this measure:
- Future Outlook Inventory [s0future]; mean of the eight items included in the computation, six of which must contain data in order to receive a computed mean; 7 items in the scale are not considered in the total score
In addition to the subscale score above, instructions for computing a summary score that combines scores from the PSMI, FOI, WAI and Resistance to Peer Influence is available. This summary score is called maturity of judgment (MOJ). A separate codebook section describes step-by-step instructions for computing the MOJ score.
References
- Scheier, M. F. & Carver, C. S. (1985). Optimism, coping and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectations. Health Psychology, 4, 219-247.
- Strathman, A., Gleicher, F., Boninger, D., & Edwards, C. S. (1994). The consideration of future consequences: Weighing immediate and distant outcomes of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 742-752.
- Zimbardo, P. G. (1990). The Stratford Time Perspective Inventory. Stratford, CA: Stratford University.