Trait irritability and temporal discounting: Exploring potential sociocultural moderators

Abstract

Irritability is linked with poor clinical outcomes in adults. However, few studies have examined the mechanisms linking these associations, and none examine whether sociocultural factors moderate these associations. Given evidence that both pediatric irritability and lower social class are associated with preferences for smaller immediate versus larger delayed rewards (i.e., temporal discounting [TD]), the present study examines irritability, social class, and TD rates in two independent adult samples (N = 362; N = 415). We also examine if resource predictability and uncertainty moderate irritability-TD associations. Trait irritability was unrelated to TD rates in either sample. Higher subjective and objective social class and higher rates of predictability in one's life were associated with lower TD rates, but only in Sample 2 and only for one of the TD tasks. Only beliefs about uncertainty in one's life interacted with trait irritability to predict TD rate and was limited to Sample 2 and one TD task. These results suggest that trait irritability in a non-clinical adult sample is not related to impulsive decision-making assessed via TD tasks and highlight the importance of sociocultural factors in irritability research.