Delay Discounting Within Couple Relationships: An Initial Exploration

Delay discounting refers to a tendency to value immediate rewards over delayed rewards. This construct has primarily been applied in the field of behavior analysis to explore a variety of maladaptive, individually oriented behaviors. Although there is a substantial research base of support, there has been little attention paid to delay discounting in the context of relationships. This study represents the first to examine the relationship between delay discounting and several important relationship-oriented variables. We used survey data from 368 participants in an adult romantic relationship to explore this relationship further. Findings revealed that the tendency to discount delayed rewards was related to attachment anxiety, disruptive couple conflict, and lower couple satisfaction, suggesting that delay discounting indeed plays a potential role in adult romantic relationships. Our hope is that delay discounting can emerge as a valuable concept for scholars, researchers, and clinicians within Systemic Family Therapy.