Well-Being Orientations and Time Perspective Across Cultural Tightness–Looseness Latent Classes in Africa

Cultural norm conformity shapes the structure of societies and accounts for group differences in the psychological functioning of individuals across cultures. This study investigated the moderating role of cultural tightness–looseness in the relationship between well-being orientations and time perspective dimensions. Participants (N = 744) from Kenya and Ghana completed the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, Cultural Tightness–Looseness (CTL) scale, and the Hedonic Eudaimonic Motives of Action (HEMA) measure. Structural equation modelling analyses were conducted in Mplus. Data confirmed HEMA’s two-factor model, distinguishing hedonia and eudaimonia. Latent class analysis produced four theoretically plausible CTL latent classes indicating the participants’ experience of norm prescription and regulation of their societies. These CTL classes accounted for group differences in the levels of well-being motives, and time perspective. However, these classes only accounted for some of the variations in the relationships between hedonic and eudaimonic orientations and time perspective dimensions. Future research should further explore the role of eudaimonic orientation in facilitating a balanced time perspective, as well as the nature and function of cultural tightness in African societies.