Stress and COVID‐19 related behaviours: The mediating role of delay discounting

Abstract

We examined stress as a predictor of behaviours related to Coronavirus Disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) through its effects on delay discounting. Adults ( N = 3686) completed an online survey with a behavioural measure of delay discounting and questions regarding stress, physical distancing, and stockpiling of food and supplies. Stress was weakly, but positively, correlated with delay discounting ( p < 0.01). Delay discounting was positively correlated with stockpiling ( p < 0.01); and discounting was negatively correlated with physical distancing ( p < 0.01). Mediation models indicated that discounting was a significant mediator of the relationship between stress and physical distancing (−0.003) and stockpiling (0.003); bootstrap 95% CIs (−0.006, −0.001) and (0.001, 0.005), respectively. After accounting for its indirect effects through discounting, stress continued to have a direct effect on these outcomes. This study indicates that delay discounting partially mediates the link between stress and behaviours related to COVID‐19. Results suggest that interventions reducing stress and/or delay discounting may be profitable for increasing infection prevention and reducing stockpiling.

Effects of Individual Discount Rate and Uncertainty Perception on Compliance with Containment Measures during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…First, the study was conducted on a very specific population of university students and this may pose some limitations in terms of generalization of the results. Secondly, while recent research has found results in line with those reported here [42], other studies have found the opposite pattern, namely that steeper delay discounting predicted poorer adherence to social distancing measures [43,44]. Therefore, further studies are necessary to better understand the relationship between adherence to containment measures and preferences in discounting behavior.…”

Maladaptive changes in delay discounting in males during the COVID-19 pandemic: the predictive role of functional connectome

“…Delay discounting has been associated with stress ( Malesza 2019 ), including during the pandemic, ( Craft et al. 2021 ; DeAngelis et al. 2021 ), which has been a source of stress ( Charles et al.…”

“…Although correlational studies suggest that stress can be associated with greater delay discounting during COVID-19 ( Malesza 2019 ; Lloyd et al. 2021 ; DeAngelis et al. 2021 ), there is limited insight regarding possible changes in delay discounting that may accrue with ongoing COVID-19 stress.…”

Short-sighted decision-making by those not vaccinated against COVID-19

“…The extent to which delay discounting is a predictor of compliance with pandemic-mitigating behaviors other than vaccination (e.g., physical distancing, mask-wearing) is less clear 34 – 36 . Seemingly weak or contradictory findings may reflect the influence of confounding factors, such as psychological distress, which tends to be positively related to delay discounting 37 . Given the association between psychological distress and delay discounting 23 , it is perhaps not surprising that psychological distress did not predict vaccination status after controlling for other variables.…”