Context-specificity and longitudinal stability of the effects of depressive symptoms on social decision-making

Depressive symptoms could affect decision-making in multiple ways. Yet it remains elusive whether such effects are context-invariant or stable over time. In this longitudinal study, 236 online participants (129 at one-month follow-up) completed a social exchange task (ultimatum game) and a non-social reward learning task (reversal learning). Mixed-effects regression analyses revealed consistent effects of depressive, but not anhedonic symptoms, on social decision-making. Specifically, more severe depressive symptoms predicted slower response times and reduced acceptance of unfair offers in the ultimatum game across time. In contrast, symptom-related effects in the reversal learning task were unstable and not reproducible. Together, these findings highlight the context-specificity and longitudinal stability of the effects of depressive symptoms on social decision-making.