Delay discounting and under-valuing of recent information predict poorer adherence to social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic

Lloyd, Alex; McKay, Ryan; Hartman, Todd K.; Vincent, Ben; Murphy, Jamie; Miller, Jilly Gibson; Levita, Liat; Bennett, Kate; McBride, Orla; Martinez, Anton Philipp; Stocks, Thomas V A; Vallières, Frédérique; Hyland, Philip; Karatzias, Thanos; Butter, Sarah; Shevlin, Mark; Bentall, Richard P.; Mason, Liam

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-98772-5

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Experiments 1 and 2 show that people who engage in daily interdental cleaning discount delayed gains less than people who engage in interdental cleaning occasionally throughout a year. This nding is consistent with prior studies of the relationship between delay discounting and other preventive health behaviors, including attending primary care visits [14,23], medication adherence [24], and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic [25]. It is also consistent with the preponderance of work in delay discounting and health behavior, which shows that greater discounting of delayed gains is associated with behavioral health problems such as substance use disorders and gambling [26].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Delay Discounting, Probability Discounting, and Interdental Cleaning Frequency

DeFulio

Rzeszutek

2022

Preprint

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Background: Interdental cleaning is recommended by dentists but many people do not floss regularly. The health benefits of interdental cleaning are delayed, and sensitivity to delay is an important factor in many health behaviors. Thus, the present studies explore the relationship between frequency of flossing, and sensitivity to delayed and probabilistic outcomes. Method: Crowd-sourced participants were recruited in two studies (n = 584 and n = 321, respectively). In both studies, participants reported their frequency of flossing and completed delay discounting and probability discounting tasks. Discounting was measured with Area Under the Curve, and linear regression was used to analyze the results. Results: Findings show that higher levels of delay discounting were associated with less frequent flossing (p < .001, both studies). In contrast, probability discounting was not significantly associated with flossing frequency (ns, both studies). Conclusion: The findings are consistent with prior studies involving other health behaviors such as attendance at primary care and medication adherence. Results suggest that interventions that reduce delay discounting may help promote regular interdental cleaning, and that delay discounting is a more robust predictor of health behaviors than probability discounting. In addition, interdental cleaning appears to be a reasonable target behavior for evaluating potentially generalizable behavioral health interventions. Thus, interventions that are successful in promoting oral health behaviors should be considered as candidates for evaluation in other health behavior domains.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Delay Discounting, Probability Discounting, and Interdental Cleaning Frequency

DeFulio

Rzeszutek

2022

Preprint

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“…df: degrees of freedom throughout a year. This finding is consistent with prior studies of the relationship between delay discounting and other preventive health behaviors, including attending primary care visits [14,23], medication adherence [24], and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic [25]. It is also consistent with the preponderance of work in delay discounting and health behavior, which shows that greater discounting of delayed gains is associated with behavioral health problems such as substance use disorders and gambling [26].…”

Section: Table 3 Post-hoc Comparisons Between Flossing Frequencies An...supporting

confidence: 90%

Delay discounting, probability discounting, and interdental cleaning frequency

DeFulio

Rzeszutek

2022

BMC Oral Health

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Background Interdental cleaning is recommended by dentists but many people do not floss regularly. The health benefits of interdental cleaning are delayed, and sensitivity to delay is an important factor in many health behaviors. Thus, the present studies explore the relationship between frequency of flossing, and sensitivity to delayed and probabilistic outcomes. Method Crowd-sourced subjects were recruited in two studies (n = 584 and n = 321, respectively). In both studies, subjects reported their frequency of flossing and completed delay discounting and probability discounting tasks. Discounting was measured with area under the curve, and linear regression was used to analyze the results. Results Findings show that higher levels of delay discounting were associated with less frequent flossing (p < 0.001, both studies). In contrast, probability discounting was not significantly associated with flossing frequency (ns, both studies). Conclusion The findings are consistent with prior studies involving other health behaviors such as attendance at primary care and medication adherence. Results suggest that interventions that reduce delay discounting may help promote regular interdental cleaning, and that delay discounting is a more robust predictor of health behaviors than probability discounting. In addition, interdental cleaning appears to be a reasonable target behavior for evaluating potentially generalizable behavioral health interventions. Thus, interventions that are successful in promoting oral health behaviors should be considered as candidates for evaluation in other health behavior domains.

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“…On many occasions, individuals who choose better health have to forgo the temptation to choose immediate rewards, and shift their preference toward larger, later outcomes. Concerning adherence to public policy guidelines, which in theory should reflect focusing on larger, later gains, current findings are mixed (21)(22)(23). Notoriously, the sources of these discrepancies may be multiple.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delay discounting of money and health outcomes, and adherence to policy guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic

Krawiec

Mizak

Tagliabue

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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Delay discounting refers to the observation that the subjective value of an outcome decreases as the delay to its receipt increases. It is well-established that steep delay discounting is related to various maladaptive behaviors, including poorer health-related choices. One of the current challenges of public health policies that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic is to encourage preventive behaviors against infectious diseases. In this study, we aimed to explore possible underpinnings of adherence to COVID-19 related public health policy guidelines such as disinfection, distancing, and masks (DDM). Participants completed monetary and health discounting tasks across two outcome amounts in gain and loss conditions, and they provided self-report measures of adherence to the DDM policy. Contrary to the theoretically plausible prediction that higher discounting rates would be negatively associated with adherence to health-related public policy guidelines, we found no compelling evidence to support such statement. We discuss the potential weaknesses of declarative measurements of attitudes toward COVID-19 and consider using behavioral interventions for influencing discounting rates for complementing and enhancing current policy guidelines.

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Delay discounting and under-valuing of recent information predict poorer adherence to social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 14 publications

References 58 publications

Delay Discounting, Probability Discounting, and Interdental Cleaning Frequency

Delay Discounting, Probability Discounting, and Interdental Cleaning Frequency

Delay discounting, probability discounting, and interdental cleaning frequency

Delay discounting of money and health outcomes, and adherence to policy guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic

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