Pooja Kulkarni and Raosaheb Raut
University of Mumbai, Mumbai
In order to adhere to COVID-19 regulations individuals need to exert self-control and
delay gratification by immediate rewards such as attending social events and roaming
without masks. The objective of the present study was to understand the association
between delaying gratification, preventive practices, risk of testing positive and mental
health during the pandemic and to examine if delaying gratification predicts the other
variables. A correlational research design was employed for the study. Data was collected
from 214 participants from Mumbai region and tools used were Delay of Gratification
Inventory (DGI-10), the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), and Prevention
Practices against COVID-19 Questionnaire. The results show Delaying Gratification
to be a predictor of adherence to preventive practices and mental health during the
pandemic. Delaying Gratification was positively correlated to adherence to preventive
practices and negatively correlated to mental distress during the pandemic. Findings
have implications for understanding role and importance of delaying gratification in
affecting outcomes during a pandemic and interventions that can be undertaken to
improve the outcomes..
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