Frontiers in Psychiatry (Apr 2023)

Decision-making styles during stressful scenarios: The role of anxiety in COVID-19 pandemic

  • Mariana Castro Marques da Rocha,
  • Mariana Castro Marques da Rocha,
  • Leandro Fernandes Malloy-Diniz,
  • Leandro Fernandes Malloy-Diniz,
  • Marco Aurélio Romano-Silva,
  • Rui Mateus Joaquim,
  • Alexandre Luiz de Oliveira Serpa,
  • Alexandre Paim Diaz,
  • Jonas Jardim de Paula,
  • Jonas Jardim de Paula,
  • Danielle Souza Costa,
  • Antônio Geraldo da Silva,
  • Antônio Geraldo da Silva,
  • André Luiz de Carvalho Braule Pinto,
  • André Luiz de Carvalho Braule Pinto,
  • Débora Marques de Miranda,
  • Débora Marques de Miranda

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1105662
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14

Abstract

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IntroductionDecision-making is not purely rational but highlighted by the influence of intuitive and emotional processes. Recently, researchers have focused more attention on understanding which environmental and personal features influence decision-making processes, and how.Objective and methodsOn this study, we investigate whether Trait Anxiety moderates the impact of Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) symptoms reported during COVID-19 pandemic on decision-making styles.ResultsThe study included 1,358 Brazilian participants (80% women) aged between 20 and 74 (M = 41.11; SD = 11.23) who responded to an online survey between May and August of the year 2021 of COVID-19 pandemic to The State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, The Decisions Styles Scale, The Impact of Event Scale – Revised and questions related to COVID-19. Through moderation analysis, we observed that experiencing PTS is associated with a higher tendency to biased/heuristic decision-making processes.DiscussionTrait Anxiety seems to influence how people respond to PTS symptoms on decision-making related processes. Subjects with higher Trait Anxiety reported lower tendency to appeal to rationality, especially under higher reported levels of PTS. Meanwhile, lower Trait Anxiety subjects exhibited more reason-based decision-making under higher rates of PTS. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of the interplay among environmental and individual differences on decision-making styles and helps to identify factors of vulnerability for poorer cognitive functioning on stressful scenarios.

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