EXTENSION TEMPORELLE DES PROJETS PERSONNELS AU COURS DE LA VIEILLESSE*

Abstract

The future time perspective (FTP) of 361 elderly persons was studied. Personal projects (goal objects or concrete motivations) were collected by means of the sentence completion technique and were classified in temporal categories. The future extension index (ratio between short‐ and long‐term projects) shows that the FTP of both sexes is similar. Concerning the relation between FTP and age, we observed that the number of subjects with a long FTP is reduced as the age increases. On the other hand, when we consider all the data, 17% of the answers are classified in the near future (less than one year) whereas 52% are related to distant future. The future is far from disappearing during the old age. The FTP is in relation with socio‐economic status and schooling, but the ‘effects’ of these variables on the FTP are interwoven. The results were not inconsistent with the idea that subjects with high socio‐economic status (who also have more years of schooling) are characterized by a longer FTP. From the results, we suggest implications for research and for professional practice with the elderly.