Table 1:
Studies included in this mini review.
| References | Country | Study design | Sample | Measurement of ITC | Measurement of the impact of COVID-19 | Mediators and/or moderators | Summary of findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agrawal et al. (2023) | USA | Cross-Sectional Experiments | 12 906 adults | Money Earlier or Later Task | Stress and pandemic mitigation behaviors | The log-transformed discounting rate was found to have a small but significant positive correlation with perceptions of health and financial stress. Moreover, in financial decision-making, social distancing was observed to be significantly linked to discount rates. | |
| Brown et al. (2023) | UK | Cross-sectional experiments | 240 smokers | 27-item Monetary Choice Questionnaire | COVID-19-related/traditional health warnings | Smokers who demonstrated decreased delay discounting exhibited higher levels of subjective arousal when presented with COVID-19-related health warnings. | |
| Byrne et al. (2021) | USA | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 404 adults | Delay discounting task | Beliefs regarding mask-wearing effectiveness | Higher temporal discounting was associated with less suitable mask-wearing habits and social distancing. | |
| Calluso et al. (2021) | Italy | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 353 adults | 27-item Monetary Choice Questionnaire | Adherence to containment measures | Perception of contagion risk | The contagion risk index and individual discount rates had an inverse relationship, which was moderated by the individual's perception of contagion risk. |
| Cannito et al. (2021) | Italy | Cross-sectional experiments | 100 adults | 27-item Monetary Choice Questionnaire | Time estimation | Evaluating surgical masks led to a stronger preference for immediate commodities over money. | |
| Craft et al. (2022) | USA | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 267 adults | Delay discounting task | Perceived stress | The discount rate was found to have a significant influence on the level of stress perceived in relation to COVID-19. | |
| Crandall et al. (2022) | USA | Longitudinal online questionnaire | A stratified cohort of families (N = 76 dyads) | Delay discounting task | Pandemic food insecurity | During the pandemic, children were observed to demonstrate a greater tendency to discount delayed rewards in response to an increase in psychological stress. | |
| DeAngelis et al. (2022) | 96 countries | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 3686 adults | Monetary 5-trial delay discounting task | Stress, stockpiling, physical distancing | Stress had a positive impact on delay discounting, which was positively associated with stockpiling and negatively associated with physical distance. | |
| Felton et al. (2022) | USA | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 72 adults | 27-item Monetary Choice Questionnaire | Coronavirus impact scale | Exposure to COVID-19 | Social vulnerability and delay discounting were positively correlated. |
| Fiorenzato and Cona (2022) | Italy | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 586 adults | Monetary 5-trial delay discounting task | COVID-19 pandemic-related information | Depression, anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty | An increased rate of delay discounting was mainly linked to the interaction between older age and higher levels of financial insecurity, such as fear of job loss. |
| Halilova et al. (2022) | 13 countries | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 4452 adults | Intertemporal choice procedure | COVID-19 vaccination status | Unvaccinated individuals showed a greater tendency to discount delayed rewards. | |
| Hall et al. (2022) | Canada | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 1958 adults | 5-trial delay discounting task | SARS-CoV-2 infection status | Young and middle-aged adults with a positive SARS-CoV-2 infection history and moderate to severe COVID-19 symptoms were more likely to exhibit amplified delay discounting than those without. | |
| Hall et al. (2023) | USA | Cross-sectional/longitudinal experiments/online questionnaire | 2122 adults | Delay discounting task | COVID-19 history, neurocognitive function, psychiatric symptoms | Age, sex | The rate of delay discounting was higher among those with a history of a symptomatic COVID-19 infection, with age and sex acting as moderators. |
| Hudson et al. (2023) | Canada | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 2002 adults | 5-item delay discounting task | Future orientation, executive function, mitigation behaviors, vaccination status | Lower levels of delay discounting were linked to more frequent mask-wearing and full vaccination status. | |
| Krawiec et al. (2022) | Poland | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 515 university students | Monetary 5-trial delay discounting task | Attitudes toward disinfection, distancing, and masks | No link was established between public health policy and delay discounting. | |
| Lloyd et al. (2021) | UK | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 442 adults | 27-item Monetary Choice Questionnaire | COVID-19 risk behaviors | A steeper inclination to delay discounting was associated with poorer observance of social distancing measures. | |
| SHEN et al. (2023) | 18 countries | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 26 355 adults | Delay discounting tasks | Self-rated survival achievement | Culture | The degree of change in intertemporal choice for different currencies and the degree of change in intertemporal choice at different stages of Chinese and Singaporeans could be used to jointly predict their self-rated survival achievement. |
| Sonmez (2021) | Turkey | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 167 adults | Hypothetical choices | COVID-19 related/classical mortality salience manipulation | Contemplating mortality led to a greater inclination to discount future rewards. | |
| Strickland et al. (2022) | USA | Longitudinal online questionnaire | 333 adults | Monetary Choice Questionnaire | Vaccination intent, vaccination status, probability discounting, health variables | A greater inclination to discount future rewards and costs was associated with a lower likelihood of receiving vaccinations. | |
| Wang et al. (2022) | China | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 491 adults | 27-item Monetary Choice Questionnaire | Emotion when thinking they may be infected by COVID-19 | Likelihood estimates of being infected | The group that experienced anticipatory emotions exhibited a lower rate of delay discounting. |
| Wismans et al. (2021) | Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 6759 students | Trial adjusting delay discounting task | Compliance behavior and impulsivity | Self-reported impulsivity had a negative correlation with compliance behavior, whereas discounting rate had a weak but positive relationship with compliance behavior. | |
| Wu (2022) | China | Cross-sectional online questionnaire | 363 college students | Choice titration procedure with 19 choice trials | Recall the uncertainty feeling related to COVID-19 | Future orientation | The future orientation of an individual was a mediator between the feelings of uncertainty and the tendency to discount delayed rewards. |
| Xiao et al. (2022) | China | Longitudinal online questionnaire | 683 college students | 27-item Monetary Choice Questionnaire | Brain functional connectivity unique to stress changes under COVID-19 | Males exhibited a greater discount than females, and the functional connectome was able to forecast this difference. |