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From error to insight: Removing non-systematic responding data in the delay discounting task may introduce systematic
Brett W Gelino1, Bryant M Stone2, Geoffrey D Kahn3
1Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08855, USA.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|April 5, 2025
Summary
Non-systematic responding (NSR), not just random error, predicts adolescent obesity and externalizing behaviors. Excluding NSR may bias findings, highlighting its importance in health behavior research.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Developmental psychology
- Public health
Background:
- Delay discounting (DD) links to adolescent health issues like obesity and sleep disturbances.
- Non-systematic responding (NSR) involves inconsistent reward valuation and may also predict health outcomes.
- Excluding NSR trials may introduce bias if NSR varies demographically or predicts health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize non-systematic responding (NSR) in adolescents.
- To compare the predictive power of NSR versus delay discounting (DD) for health outcomes.
- To investigate potential systematic bias from excluding NSR in research.
Main Methods:
- Secondary data analysis of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N=11,948).
- Assessed DD and NSR using the Adjusting Delay Discounting Task in 9.48-year-olds.
- Examined annual sleep disturbances, obesity, and externalizing psychopathology from ages 8-11.
Main Results:
- NSR varied across race, ethnicity, and BMI categories; no sex/gender differences.
- NSR predicted obesity and externalizing psychopathology more strongly than DD.
- NSR inversely predicted obesity growth trajectory.
Conclusions:
- NSR captures important response variability and excluding it may bias analyses.
- NSR is a significant predictor of maladaptive adolescent health behaviors.
- Further research is needed on managing NSR in delay discounting studies.
Keywords:
Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development StudyDelay discountingExternalizing psychopathologyNon-systematic respondingObesitySleep disturbanceMore Related Videos
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