Does Trauma Influence Delay Discounting? The case of the Earthquakes in Turkey

Delay discounting is the tendency to assign a lower subjective value to a future reward than an immediate reward. Exposure to trauma has been proved to influence inter-temporal decision-making. People with a traumatic experience choose sooner but smaller rewards instead of later but larger ones. The purpose of the current research is to explore the post-traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, hopelessness levels, and how do these affect delay discounting behaviors of individuals who had been exposed to earthquakes happened in Turkey on February 2023 which had led to the death of fifty thousand people and many more wounded, both emotionally and physically. It is crucial to provide information about how a mass traumatic experience can influence individuals’ decision-making abilities. Steep discounting of future rewards is an important predictor of behavioral problems, thus, to implement adequate policies and prevent future psychopathology such as alcohol and drug abuse, impulsive disorders, decreased well-being, dependence or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, it is essential to understand how individuals with a traumatic experience locate themselves around time when making a decision.