Introduction: The purpose of the study was to investigate psychometric characteristics of Zimbardo's time perspective inventory (short form) in adult population of Tehran.
Method: The sample population of the study was 400 adult men and women of Tehran which was selected by multiphase clustering method.  36-question form of time perspective inventory and NEO personality traits (short form) were used.
Results: Results showed that reliability coefficient of questionnaire by Cronbach alpha represent the suitable reliability of total scale and each of the factors. The results also showed that there's a significant relationship between time perspective inventory factors and NEO personality traits. In addition, the results of explanatory factor analysis indicate five factors of negative past, present hedonistic, provident, positive past, and present fatalistic which generally determine 37 % of total variance. Of course there are some changes in some of the items of time perspective inventory in comparison with the original inventory. Moreover, the results of confirmatory factor analysis show an acceptable fitness in determining factors with new items.
Discussion and conclusion: The obtaining results indicate that short form of time perspective inventory with its changed items is a valid and reliable tool for Iranian adult population.