Rocky past, hazy future: Childhood adversity and adult prospection

Two preregistered studies tested whether childhood adversity is associated with hazy future thinking, characterized by reduced clarity and detail in imagined future events and a more negative emotional outlook toward the future, and whether it is related to higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty. In Study 1 ( N = 232; 77.2% female, 22% male, 0.8% other or not specified), when asked to consider the future, participants with higher childhood adversity reported less vivid, detailed, and optimistic future thoughts, with more hopelessness and negative emotions. In Study 2 ( N = 262; 79.4% female, 19.8% male, 0.8% other or not specified), higher adversity was related to lower confidence, persistence, and commitment regarding goals. Separating adversity into harshness and unpredictability revealed that unpredictability was more consistently associated with both cognitive and emotional aspects of hazy future thinking, even when controlling for harshness. Also, higher childhood unpredictability was associated with higher intolerance of uncertainty in both studies. These findings provide evidence that early-life unpredictability is related to less cognitively clear and more emotionally negative visions of the future.