Development and validation of Intertemporal Decision-Making Ability Scale for early adolescents

Abstract

Objective: Intertemporal decision-making ability refers to the ability of individuals to weigh costs and benefits at different time points and make choices, which is crucial for adolescents to resist temptation, improve self-control, and prospection. However, there are rarely studies that have been conducted to directly measure the intertemporal decision-making ability of adolescents. Method: In this study, adolescents aged 9 to 15 years old were include to finish the measurement, and the intertemporal decision-making ability scale was developed based on three neural networks of intertemporal decision-making. After conducting the exploratory factor analysis, the final scale had 14 items in three dimensions. Results: The results showed that the intertemporal decision-making ability scale for early adolescents contains three dimensions, namely, cognitive control, reward valuation, and prospection, with a total of 14 items. Conclusion: The intertemporal decisionmaking ability scale developed in this study can effectively assess the intertemporal decisionmaking ability for early adolescents.