Longitudinal associations between impulsivity and lie-telling in childhood and adolescence

Lie-telling and impulsivity levels peak during late childhood to early adolescence and have been suggested to be related. Heightened impulsivity may lead adolescents to lie in favor of short-term benefits without consideration for the potential consequences of deception. The present study assessed longitudinal relations between self-reported impulsivity and lie-telling frequency. Participants from a large-scale longitudinal study (N = 1148; M_age = 11.55, SD = 1.69, 9–15 years at Time 1) reported on their impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) and their frequency of lie-telling to parents, to teachers, to friends, and about cheating across two time points 1 year apart. Cross-lagged path analysis revealed greater impulsivity was associated with more frequent lie-telling to parents, friends, and teachers, and about cheating over time. Our findings demonstrate the role of impulsivity in the development of lie-telling behaviors.

Research Highlights

• Impulsivity predicts lying across time in multiple contexts (to parents, friends, teachers, and about cheating).
• Previous research has demonstrated the role of top-down influences on lie-telling, but the current study suggests that bottom-up processes are also influential.

     

A state model of negative urgency: Do momentary reports of emotional impulsivity reflect global self-report?

Negative urgency is a trait that is a risk factor for a range of psychopathology. Yet, little research has tested whether global self-report measures of negative urgency truly reflect a heightened association between real-world negative emotions and impulsive behaviors. In a sample of young adults (N = 222) assessed 3 times per day for 10 days, we tested whether negative emotions were associated with multiple facets of impulsivity at the state-level, and whether those associations were moderated by global self-report of negative urgency. Our findings suggest a robust within-person association between negative affect and acting on impulse. However, global self-report of negative urgency did not moderate any emotion-impulsivity association we tested.     

Psychopathy and COVID-19: Callousness,impulsivity, and motivational reasons for engaging in prevention behavior

Two direct replication studies were conducted to investigate the associations of psychopathic traits with engagement in COVID-19 prevention behavior and motivational reasons for engaging in such behavior. College undergraduate students completed two self-report measures of psychopathic traits based on the four-factor conceptualization of psychopathy (callous affect, manipulative tendency, erratic lifestyle, criminal tendency) and the triarchic conceptualization of psychopathy (meanness, disinhibition, boldness). Participants then reported the degree to which they engaged in COVID-19 prevention behavior currently and in the past, and reported their self-focused and other-focused motivational reasons for doing so. Results aggregated across both studies (N = 292) revealed that traits reflecting emotional callousness and impulsivity independently predicted lower levels of other-focused reasons for engaging in prevention behavior. Moreover, controlling for other-focused reasons appreciably reduced negative associations of emotional callousness and impulsivity with prevention behavior. The results provide insight into points of convergence in conceptualization and measurement of psychopathy from multiple theoretical perspectives and the importance of considering the impact of divisive personality traits on motivation to protect others during pandemics.     

Gender effects among undergraduates relating to suicide risk,impulsivity, aggression and self-efficacy

The present study investigated the association of impulsivity, aggression and self-efficacy with protective factors against suicide. The study population consisted of 300 Italian university students (141 males, 159 females); mean age 24.2 (SD = 3.01). Participants were assessed by means of the Reasons for Living Inventory, the Aggression Questionnaire, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Correlations between reasons for living and aggression and impulsivity scores were weak. However, for those individuals with high self-efficacy, aggression and impulsivity were associated with stronger reasons for living. These results support the possibility that increasing general self-efficacy could be a useful target for interventions directed toward suicide prevention in individuals with problems in emotional control.     

The role of impulsivity in the Dark Triad of personality

Among the Dark Triad of personality, both narcissism and psychopathy have been linked to impulsivity. What remains unclear is the pattern of associations that the Dark Triad have with functional and dysfunctional types of impulsivity. Using both student (N = 142) and adult samples (N = 329), we investigated the association of the Dark Triad variables with Dickman’s measures of functional and dysfunctional impulsivity. Based on regression analyses, psychopathy was most closely associated with dysfunctional impulsivity whereas narcissism was associated with functional impulsivity. It appears that narcissistic impulsivity involves venturesome social engagement whereas psychopathic impulsivity stems from poor self-regulation. As expected, Machiavellianism had no consistent association with either type of impulsivity. In short, the Dark Triad members show a coherent pattern of relations with impulsivity.     

Personality styles in a non-clinical sample: The role of emotion dysregulation and impulsivity

Theories of personality and personality disorders are increasingly considering the centrality of emotion regulation and its dimensions. Impulsivity as well is recognized as a personality trait underlying diverse symptom presentations. Although research in this field has mainly regarded borderline personality disorder, recent studies supported the association of both emotion dysregulation and impulsivity with personality styles across all clusters. In the present study, we sought to extend extant research by investigating the joint contribution of selected difficulties in emotion regulation and impulsivity to traits of four personality styles in a community sample (N = 399, mean age = 37.91, 56.6% males). In particular, we focused on depressive, masochistic, passive-aggressive and sadistic personality styles. Multiple regression analyses showed the unique association of several domains of emotion dysregulation with all personality styles examined. Nonacceptance of emotional response was significantly and positively related with scores of all personality styles. Lack of emotional awareness was also characteristic of different styles. Beyond these similarities, distinct patterns were able to distinguish between externalizing (sadistic and passive-aggressive), and internalizing (depressive and masochistic) traits. Beyond the role of emotion dysregulation, trait impulsivity was also related to masochistic, passive-aggressive, and sadistic traits, independently explaining a significant amount of additional variance.     

Studying cross-cultural differences in temperament in toddlerhood: United States of America (US) and Italy

Cross-cultural differences between matched samples (N = 306) of Italian and US toddlers were evaluated. Italian toddlers received higher scores on cuddliness, impulsivity, low intensity pleasure, perceptual sensitivity and positive anticipation, whereas US toddlers were higher on frustration, high-intensity pleasure, inhibitory control, shyness, and soothability.     

Investigating honesty-humility and impulsivity as predictors of aggression in children and youth

Among adult and adolescent populations, the personality trait of honesty-humility (HH) has been linked to aggression. For example, adults low in HH have been found to exhibit higher levels of workplace delinquency and revenge motivation, and adolescent low in HH are more likely to bully others. However, there is a paucity of research examining this relationship in children and youth, and how these relationships develop over time. The current study addressed these gaps in the literature by assessing whether HH and impulsivity are independently associated with aggression in children Grades 3 through 8 (N = 1201). Using data from the two waves of a longitudinal project, autoregressive crossed-lagged path analysis was used to examine the bidirectional relationships between HH, impulsivity, and aggression over a 1-year period. Results revealed significant bidirectional relationships between HH and aggression, such that lower scores of HH at Time 1 were associated with higher scores of aggression at Time 2 and vice versa. Similarly, higher scores of impulsivity at Time 1 were associated with higher scores of aggression at Time 2 and vice versa. In addition, these relationships were strongest in boys and at higher ages. Consistent with research in other populations, these results indicate that low HH and high impulsivity are linked to aggression in children and youth. Further, our results demonstrate that HH and impulsivity bidirectionally impact aggression as one age, suggesting a need for early intervention.     

Gender effects among undergraduates relating to suicide risk, impulsivity, aggression and self-efficacy

The present study investigated the association of impulsivity, aggression and self-efficacy with protective factors against suicide. The study population consisted of 300 Italian university students (141 males, 159 females); mean age 24.2 (SD = 3.01). Participants were assessed by means of the Reasons for Living Inventory, the Aggression Questionnaire, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Correlations between reasons for living and aggression and impulsivity scores were weak. However, for those individuals with high self-efficacy, aggression and impulsivity were associated with stronger reasons for living. These results support the possibility that increasing general self-efficacy could be a useful target for interventions directed toward suicide prevention in individuals with problems in emotional control.     

Understanding the relationships between body esteem,risk for anorexia nervosa,and domain-dependent decision-making impulsivity in a college sample

Impulsivity has been suggested to interact with low body esteem to elevate risk for anorexia nervosa. Discounting tasks are unique tools for examining impulsivity. Female college students (N = 139) at varying levels of body esteem and risk for anorexia nervosa responded to discounting scenarios depicting opportunities to lose/gain weight and to worsen/improve complexion. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between impulsivity and risk for anorexia nervosa and body esteem in four disorder-relevant decision-making contexts. Results indicated that lower decision-making impulsivity predicted lower body esteem levels when the outcome of the task was framed as an opportunity to lose weight. It is suggested that greater self-control regarding weight-loss in women with low body esteem may be problematic, placing them at higher risk for eating- and weight-related problems. Results reiterate the need for continued attention to fostering healthy body esteem and weight-control patterns in women on college campuses.     

Aspects of impulsivity are differentially associated with risky sexual behaviors

Risky sexual behavior (RSB) greatly increases the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, as well as a host of other negative outcomes. Recent advances in personality research have defined multiple and separate dispositions to engagement in impulsive behaviors, including RSB. Little is known concerning the ways in which aspects of impulsivity place individuals at risk for various types of RSB. The purpose of the current study, therefore, was to further clarify the unique ways in which aspects of impulsivity were differentially associated with various forms of RSB within a large, diverse sample of university students ages 18-to-24 years (N = 917). Results suggest low self-control confers a general risk while a tendency toward impulsive behavior in the context of intense emotion confers a more specific risk as for various types of RSB. The current study confirms the importance of focusing on both various pathways to impulsive behaviors as well as specific types of RSB.     

Approaching to a structural model of impulsivity and driving anger as predictors of risk behaviors in young drivers

Due to the high rates of traffic accidents in young drivers, psychology studies identify road anger as an important factor associated to risk driving behaviors, in order to know which psychological variables can predict road anger, the literature suggest impulsivity as an individual condition related to anger. The objective of this research is to obtain an explanatory model of risk driving as a result of the relationship of impulsivity, road anger expression and the control of impulsivity and anger. A sample of 407 subjects, both sexes drivers were surveyed, obtaining a structural equation model with acceptable adjustment values. The model showed that control of impulsivity and anger predict impulsivity (β = −0.25) and physical expression of anger (β = −0.50), Impulsivity also showed predictive capacity towards the physical expression of anger (β = 0.29), and the physical expression of anger towards risk driving behaviors (β = 0.89). Due to the findings it is suggested the implementation of social programs that promote the development of anger regulatory skills and impulse control, as part of the preventive actions of road accidents.     

The role of response styles in the assessment of intraindividual personality variability

Although personality psychologists often focus on between-person differences, understanding intraindividual variability is also a critical focus of the subdiscipline. Despite the fact that non-self-report techniques exist for assessing variability, questionnaire-based measures are still the norm. In two studies (N = 149 and N = 202) we examine the possibility that intraindividual variability measures derived from repeated self-report assessments are affected by certain response styles. These studies, which use a variety of techniques for assessing within-person variability, show that standard measures are moderately to strongly correlated with theoretically unrelated variability measures, including those based on ratings of satisfaction with neutral objects or the personality of cartoon characters. These results raise questions about the validity and utility of widely used measures for assessing intraindividual variability.     

The relationship between psychopathy and impulsivity: A multi-impulsivity measurement approach

Psychopathy is a serious personality disorder of which impulsivity is a key component. However, impulsivity is a multidimensional construct, with multiple approaches to measurement, and different measures may be differentially implicated in psychopathy. This study investigated the relationship between psychopathy as assessed by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005), a personality measure of impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11), and four behavioural measures of impulsivity (GoStop Impulsivity Paradigm, Two Choice Impulsivity Paradigm, Delay Discounting Task, Iowa Gambling Task). A nonclinical sample (N = 80) was recruited from the local community to advance understanding of psychopathy in non-incarcerated samples. The results indicated that the personality measure of impulsivity was strongly correlated with the PPI-R, while the behavioural measures were either not correlated or only weakly correlated with the PPI-R. The results are discussed in terms of the multifaceted nature of impulsivity and the need for the further development of behavioural measures of impulsivity, given their importance in clinical assessment and intervention.     

Authenticity,presence of meaning,and struggle with ultimate meaning: Nuanced between-and within-person associations

Authenticity predicts greater presence of meaning in life, in general (between-persons) and in the moment (within-persons). However, little is known about whether authenticity predicts negative aspects of life meaning, such as struggles with ultimate meaning. Across three studies (total N = 719), two of which used daily diaries (daily reports = 1,980), correlations, confirmatory factor analyses, and multilevel path models together showed that higher levels of authenticity related positively to presence of meaning and negatively to struggle with ultimate meaning at the between- and within-person levels. These findings are consistent with humanistic, existential, and positive psychology theories of authenticity and meaning and raise the possibility that increasing authenticity states over time may predict sustained improvement in multiple aspects of meaning.     

Clarifying the role of impulsivity in dietary restraint: A structural equation modeling approach

This study was designed to clarify the relationship between the four dimensions of impulsivity in Whiteside and Lynam’s (2001) model and the two aspects of dietary restraint (Concern for Dieting and Weight Fluctuation) in a non-clinical sample. Data were collected from a volunteer community sample (N = 216) of women who responded to two self-report instruments related to impulsivity (UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale, Whiteside & Lynam, 2001) and dietary restraint (Restraint Scale, Polivy, Herman, & Warsh, 1978). A structural equation model was tested. The model provided a good fit to the data (χ²/df = 1.64, p < .0001, RMSEA = 0.054, 90% CI = 0.050–0.058, p-value for test of close fit (RMSEA > 0.05) = .035) and revealed that Concern for Dieting was positively related to Urgency (standardized β = 0.25, p < .01). Weight Fluctuation was related to lack of Perseverance (standardized β = 0.25, p < .01) and tended to relate to Sensation Seeking (standardized β = 0.17, p = .056). Urgency and lack of Perseverance were found to play a significant role in predicting Concern for Dieting and Weight Fluctuation.     

Temporal preparation,response inhibition and impulsivity

Temporal preparation and impulsivity involve overlapping neural structures (prefrontal cortex) and cognitive functions (response inhibition and time perception), however, their interrelations had not been investigated. We studied such interrelations by comparing the performance of groups with low vs. high non-clinical trait impulsivity during a temporal preparation go no-go task. This task measured, in less than 10 min, how response inhibition was influenced both by temporal orienting of attention (guided by predictive temporal cues) and by sequential effects (produced by repetition/alternation of the duration of preparatory intervals in consecutive trials). The results showed that sequential effects produced dissociable patterns of temporal preparation as a function of impulsivity. Sequential effects facilitated both response speed (reaction times – RTs – to the go condition) and response inhibition (false alarms to the no-go condition) selectively in the low impulsivity group. In the high impulsivity group, in contrast, sequential effects only improved RTs but not response inhibition. We concluded that both excitatory and inhibitory processing may be enhanced concurrently by sequential effects, which enables the temporal preparation of fast and controlled responses. Impulsivity could hence be related to less efficient temporal preparation of that inhibitory processing.     

A longitudinal multilevel model analysis of the within-person and between-person effect of effortful engagement and academic self-efficacy on academic performance

Using data from an accelerated longitudinal study, we examined the within-person and between-person effect of effortful engagement and academic self-efficacy on academic performance across students (N = 135) in elementary school. Teachers assessed participants' effortful engagement and participants rated their academic self-efficacy once per year for 3 years. Academic performance was assessed through standardized test scores in reading and math. Multilevel models indicated that within-person change in Effortful Engagement and Academic Self-Efficacy scores significantly predicted concomitant within-person change in reading test scores, B = 2.71, p = .043, Pseudo-R² = .02 and B = 4.72, p = .005, Pseudo-R² = .04, respectively. Participants with higher between-person levels of Effortful Engagement had higher initial reading test scores, B = 10.03, p = .001, Pseudo-R² = .09, and math test scores, B = 11.20, p < .001, Pseudo-R² = .15, whereas participants with higher between-person levels of Academic Self-Efficacy showed a faster rate of increase in math test scores across elementary school, B = 10.21, p = .036, Pseudo-R² = .25. At the between-person level, Effortful Engagement mediated the association between Academic Self-Efficacy and both reading and math test scores, although no support was found for mediation at the within-person level. Collectively, results suggest that trait-level psychological factors can vary meaningfully within school-aged children and that both within-person change and between-person individual differences in these traits have important consequences for academic performance.     

A preliminary investigation of impulsivity in generalized anxiety disorder

Few studies have examined the association between impulsivity and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). This study examined whether individuals with probable GAD display impulsivity in a particular way, and the extent to which impulsivity uniquely predicts GAD severity and GAD status, over and above intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a key cognitive factor in GAD. Individuals with (n = 63) and without (n = 77) probable GAD completed self-report measures of impulsivity and IU. Results revealed that elevations in the severity of GAD symptoms and in IU were associated with impulsive actions in the face of negative affect (i.e., negative urgency), but also greater premeditation and lower “functional” impulsivity (i.e., the ability to take quick action when it is advantageous to do so). Impulsivity led to an increment in the prediction of GAD symptoms and GAD status, over and above IU. Negative urgency and lower functional impulsivity were significant unique predictors of GAD severity or GAD status. The findings highlight a need to consider impulsivity in theories that implicate intolerance of negative affect and uncertainty in excessive and uncontrollable worry.     

Mindfulness,impulsivity, and moral disengagement as parameters of bullying and victimization at school

The aim of the present study was to examine the existing association between mindfulness, impulsivity, moral disengagement, and bullying experiences at school. Longitudinal data were collected in three points in time (T1, T2, T3) with 6 months interval between them. Participants were 558 adolescents attending secondary schools in Cyprus, with their ages ranging from 14 to 17 years (M = 15.3; standard deviation = 0.69). Through structural equation modeling, it was found that mindfulness at T1 had a significant negative effect on both impulsivity and moral disengagement at T2 and these, in turn, had a positive effect on bullying and victimization at T3. Thus, mindfulness had an indirect effect on both bullying and victimization, fully mediated by impulsivity and moral disengagement.