Unhealthy behaviours in disaster survivors are associated with scarcity and present bias.

ABSTRACT: Extant research suggests that disaster exposure may induce unhealthy behavior, such as smoking, drinking, and eating disorder symptoms in survivors; however, the underlying the mechanisms of such behavior remain unclear. Using two field experiments in two separate disaster-affected communities in Japan (N = 337) and the Philippines (N = 187), this study found that scarcity and reinforced present-bias were associated with disaster experiences and unhealthy behavior in both locations. These experiments were conducted twice (i.e., 2-3 years and 6 years post-disaster), allowing us to examine the enduring impact of these disasters. Disaster survivors became consistently present-biased, which in turn explains variance in individuals' health-related decisions, such as body mass index, smoking, an

SUBMITTER: Sawada Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12644766 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature