Relações entre postergação de gratificação, personalidade e desfechos psicossociais: um estudo antes e após um ano de duração da pandemia de COVID-19

Abstract

The emergence of a new coronavirus in late 2019 caused a collapse in world health, resulting in a pandemic. The suggested behaviors to reduce the spread of the virus depended on behavioral changes that would impact the lives and routines of individuals. These behaviors influence mental health and the maintenance of well-being, which depend, in part, on the ability to delay gratification. This work aims to investigate aspects of delayed gratification, mental health, and life satisfaction before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. One hundred and eighty-one participants responded to instruments designed to measure delayed gratification, mental health, personality, and life satisfaction. They were applied in 2016 and 2021, approximately one year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Socioeconomic data on desired behaviors during the pandemic were also collected from these participants. The variables were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test, Spearman correlation, and mixed linear regression model (hierarchical models), including a random intercept for each participant. A comparison of nonparametric data indicated significant differences in mental health and delay in gratification in the considered interval, but there was no significant difference in life satisfaction. Delayed gratification correlated with most expected behaviors in the pandemic, but there was no significant correlation between mental health and life satisfaction with these behaviors. It is possible to notice a significant longitudinal effect in explaining life satisfaction by the variables: extroversion, neuroticism, postponement of gratification, and socioeconomic level. Higher levels of extraversion and delayed gratification are longitudinally associated with greater life satisfaction, as are higher scores on emotional stability and socioeconomic status, previous corroborating research.