抄録
Depressed patients often feel anxiety and have suicidal ideations. Such feelings are closely related to the concept of time perspective. The aims of the present study were to clarify time perspective in depressed patients using the Time Perspective Test （TPT） and to verify the effectiveness of the TPT as an assessment tool. In the present study, depressed patients （n＝15） and healthy volunteers （n＝40） were administered the TPT, and their responses regarding time perspective were compared. Depressed patients had negative present and past time perspectives, and no future time perspective. In addition to poor responses to the TPT, the test revealed dichotomous thinking and poor interpersonal relationships in depressed patients. These findings suggest that the TPT is useful for gaining an understanding of the condition of depressed patients, and is an effective assessment tool that can be used by physicians, nurses, and other health professionals to obtain important information about depressed patients.
