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Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (ATAS)3

Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (ATAS) Test

With 30 statements and a completion time of about 6 minutes, the Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (ATAS) Test explores how you view the past, present, and future. Your result can highlight patterns of optimism, dissatisfaction, worry, and positive expectations, supporting focused self-reflection.

Questions: 306 minutes

Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (ATAS): sample question card

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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1,565 completions

1,342 likes

Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

1,342 likes

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Negative FutureNF

Measures how strongly a teenager holds negative expectations or worries about the future.

example score20/25

20/25High negativityexample score

5 – 11Low negativity

12 – 18Moderate negativity

19 – 25High negativity

A score of 20 falls in the High negativity range, suggesting a pronounced tendency toward pessimistic or concerned expectations about what lies ahead.

Positive FuturePF

Measures how positively and confidently a teenager views their future.

example score18/25

18/25Moderate positivityexample score

5 – 12Low positivity

13 – 19Moderate positivity

20 – 25High positivity

A score of 18 indicates a moderately positive outlook, suggesting generally optimistic expectations about what lies ahead with some room for stronger confidence.

Negative PresentNP

Measures how strongly a teenager tends to view their present life and current experiences in a negative way.

example score17/25

17/25Moderate negativityexample score

5 – 11Low negativity

12 – 18Moderate negativity

19 – 25High negativity

A score of 17 falls in the Moderate negativity range, suggesting a noticeable tendency to evaluate the present unfavorably, though not at the highest intensity.

Positive PresentPP

Measures how positively a teenager feels about and is satisfied with their current life and present circumstances.

example score8/25

8/25Low positivityexample score

5 – 11Low positivity

12 – 18Moderate positivity

19 – 25High positivity

A score of 8 falls in the Low positivity range, suggesting relatively limited positive feelings or satisfaction with the present at this time.

Past NegativePN

Measures how strongly a teenager holds negative feelings and evaluations about their past experiences.

example score17/25

17/25Moderate negativityexample score

5 – 11Low negativity

12 – 18Moderate negativity

19 – 25High negativity

A score of 17 falls in the Moderate negativity range, suggesting a noticeable but not predominant tendency to view past experiences negatively.

Past PositivePP

Measures how positively a teenager views and feels satisfied with their past experiences.

example score18/25

18/25Moderately positiveexample score

5 – 12Less positive

13 – 19Moderately positive

20 – 25Highly positive

A score of 18 indicates a moderately positive attitude toward the past, suggesting generally favorable memories with some mixed or less satisfying elements.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Teens feeling stuck

41%OF USERS

Teenagers who feel down, unmotivated, or overwhelmed use it to understand whether negative views of the past, present, or future are shaping how they cope day to day.

Guidance and counseling students

34%OF USERS

Students in school counseling or therapy take it to give a clearer picture of what’s weighing on them and to track changes during support or interventions.

Goal-driven achievers

25%OF USERS

High-performing teens use it to check whether their time outlook supports healthy motivation and realistic planning rather than pressure or burnout.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

The future is negativeTfin

You?

Average11.2

Typical rangeTypical8.6 – 13.7

Possible5 – 25

The future is positiveTfip

You?

Average18

Typical rangeTypical14.3 – 21.8

Possible5 – 25

The present is negativeTpin

You?

Average15.5

Typical rangeTypical12 – 19

Possible5 – 25

The present is positiveTpip

You?

Average13.3

Typical rangeTypical9.9 – 16.8

Possible5 – 25

Negative pastNp

You?

Average19.3

Typical rangeTypical16.1 – 22.4

Possible5 – 25

The past is positiveTpip

You?

Average17

Typical rangeTypical14.3 – 19.6

Possible5 – 25

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 30 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (ATAS) Test - Description and methodology of the test

temporal perspective

Readers who want to examine how they relate to earlier experiences, current life, and what lies ahead may find the Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (ATAS) Test useful. As a time attitude questionnaire, it offers a differentiated self-report profile rather than a single overall mood label. The result can help people identify hopeful, dissatisfied, worried, or positive patterns across time.

What This Assessment Explores

Past, present, and future attitudes are compared. Readers can reflect on memories, satisfaction, and expectations. Positive and negative evaluations can coexist, making this time perspective test useful. Scales:

Negative Future (5-25) measures negative expectations: Low negativity 5-11; Moderate negativity 12-18; High negativity 19-25.
Positive Future (5-25) measures optimism: Low positivity 5-12; Moderate positivity 13-19; High positivity 20-25.
Negative Present (5-25) measures dissatisfaction: Low negativity 5-11; Moderate negativity 12-18; High negativity 19-25.
Positive Present (5-25) measures current satisfaction: Low positivity 5-11; Moderate positivity 12-18; High positivity 19-25.
Past Negative (5-25) measures negative memories: Low negativity 5-11; Moderate negativity 12-18; High negativity 19-25.
Past Positive (5-25) measures positive memories: Less positive 5-12; Moderately positive 13-19; Highly positive 20-25.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

Each statement asks for agreement on five response choices, from Strongly disagree to Strongly agree. Items address memories, satisfaction or worry in current life, and confidence or doubt about what lies ahead. Responses form six domain scores, allowing positive and negative attitudes toward each period to be considered separately.

The published Adolescent Time Attitude Scale (ATAS), described by Worrell, Mello, and Buhl (2013), is the closest instrument for these dimensions. Worrell and Mello (2009) examined convergent and discriminant validity in time-attitude scores, while Zimbardo and Boyd (1999) provide the broader individual-differences framework for time perspective. This questionnaire is conceptually consistent with that work, not presented as a direct adaptation.

Interpretation is comparative, making this a useful future orientation test: hope about tomorrow may coexist with dissatisfaction today, or positive memories with unpleasant ones. As an online self-report snapshot, this version has no stated standardization; current mood, memory bias, and self-presentation can shape the profile, so it should not be assumed to carry the published studies' norms, reliability estimates, or clinical meaning.

Author: John N. Boyd, Philip G. Zimbardo

Literature:

Worrell, F. C., Mello, Z. R., & Buhl, M. (2013). Introducing English and German Versions of the Adolescent Time Attitude Scale. Assessment, 20(4), 496-510. 10.1177/1073191110396202
Worrell, F. C., & Mello, Z. R. (2009). Convergent and Discriminant Validity of Time Attitude Scores on the Adolescent Time Perspective Inventory. Diskurs Kindheits- und Jugendforschung, 4(2), 185-196.
Zimbardo, P. G., & Boyd, J. N. (1999). Putting Time in Perspective: A Valid, Reliable Individual-Differences Metric. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1271-1288. 10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1271

Updated: 2025-10-02