Delay discounting in emotional disorders: A three-level meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Delay discounting (DD) is a proposed transdiagnostic mechanism in psychiatric disorders.
• Research on DD in emotional disorders (EDs) versus healthy controls (HCs) yields controversial results.
• Understanding DD differences is crucial for EDs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify DD differences between EDs and HCs using meta-analysis.
• To investigate moderating effects of various characteristics on DD in EDs.

Main Methods:

• A three-level meta-analysis synthesized 19 studies (N=3263, k=75 effect sizes) published until December 2024.
• Included EDs: depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders.
• Tested moderators: sample, clinical, and methodological characteristics.

Main Results:

• EDs exhibited significantly steeper DD and stronger immediate reward preference than HCs.
• This pattern was consistent in the depressive disorders subgroup.
• Reward magnitude and type moderated DD in EDs; reward magnitude and DD task moderated DD in depressive disorders.

Conclusions:

• This is the first meta-analysis on DD in EDs.
• Findings enhance understanding of DD in EDs.
• Results have implications for ED screening and intervention.