LAUSR

Abstract Previous research demonstrates that stress is a precipitant of greater delay discounting, which reflects greater behavioral impulsivity. However, the underlying factors that explain this relationship are unclear. The concept of emotion regulation states that individuals with poorly regulated emotions often engage in maladaptive behaviors to escape from or down-regulate their emotions. One such behavior may be greater delay discounting. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine whether difficulties in emotion regulation would mediate the association between stress and delay discounting. The sample consisted of 418 adults. In addition to the traditional discounting measure with pairs of hypothetical choices between immediate and delayed monetary outcomes, the Perceived Stress Scale and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale were used to collect data. Results showed that experience of stress was related to individuals' poorer capability of emotion regulation, which in turn, was related to higher delay discounting rate. Additionally, higher stress level was directly related to greater delay discounting. Furthermore, difficulties in emotion regulation have a significant mediator role in the relationship between stress and delay discounting. It is argued that individuals with high levels of stress become prone to impulsive behavior like greater delay discounting via emotional dysregulation.