Orientation to authority and its relation to impulsiveness

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between orientation to authority and impulsiveness among 169 adolescents. The results confirmed earlier findings of no association between extraversion (E) and orientation to authority, but also found various submeasures of impulsiveness to correlate significantly with orientation to authority among males and females. Subsequent factor analysis showed risk-taking (impulsiveness) and psychoticism to load significantly on the orientation to authority component. These findings are discussed in relation to the nature of extraversion (E); some suggestions for future research are also made.     

Relationship between impulsiveness and deviant behavior among adolescents in the classroom: age and sex differences

To assess the relationship between impulsiveness and deviant behavior among 103 adolescents, taking into account their sociodemographic characteristics, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and a self-assessment measure with regard to disruptive and deviant behaviors which had occurred in the last 90 days were used. The results show that impulsiveness and disruptive behavior in the classroom were related to deviant behavior outside of the classroom. Therefore, age and sex explained the relationship between impulsiveness and behavior. The older adolescents and the girls showed less disruptive behaviors than the younger participants and the boys; both variables showed an interactive effect on disruptive behavior. The age at which sexual activity commenced and the number of sexual partners were also significantly related to impulsiveness and disruptive and deviant behavior. Similarly, impulsiveness was shown to have a significant relationship with disruptive and deviant behavior, and disruptive behavior was shown to have a significant relationship with deviant behavior.     

Impulsiveness and antisocial behaviour in children

An Impulsiveness inventory was completed by 118 boys and 309 girls from London comprehensive schools. Of these, 101 boys and 306 girls also completed the Eysenck Junior Personality Questionnaire and an Antisocial Behaviour Scale. Intercorrelations of the scores suggest that there is a strong link between antisocial behaviour in children and impulsiveness, as well as psychoticism or toughmindedness, and a weaker link with venturesomeness, extraversion and lack of empathy. Neuroticism was only slightly implicated for girls and hardly at all for boys.     

Venturesomeness, impulsiveness, and Eysenck's personality dimensions: a study among Australian adolescents

In Eysenckian personality theory, the dimension extraversion has traditionally consisted of two elements, sociability and impulsiveness. More recently, however, impulsiveness has become associated with the dimension psychoticism (Rocklin & Revelle, 1981), although subfactors of impulsiveness have been shown to be differentially related to extraversion and psychoticism (S. Eysenck & H. Eysenck, 1977). This study investigates the structures of impulsiveness and venturesomeness and their association with extraversion, emotional stability-neuroticism, and psychoticism among 170 Australian adolescents. Both impulsiveness and venturesomeness were found to be multidimensional, although the subfactors differed slightly from those suggested by the Eysencks. No support was found for the view that impulsiveness narrowly defined is pathological, although the impulsiveness and venturesomeness subfactors were found to be differentially related to extraversion, emotional stability-neuroticism, and psychoticism. The theoretical implications of these findings are briefly discussed.     

Prevalence and Correlates of Direct Self-Injurious Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: Findings from a Multicenter and Multistage Survey

Direct self-injurious behavior (DSIB) has become an important focus due to its perniciousness and perplexity. Little is known about its prevalence and correlative factors in Chinese adolescents, including how data may differ according to gender. A multicenter, multistage stratified cluster random sampling was used to examine the previous 12-month prevalence of DSIB, as well as the possible correlates of demographics, risky behaviors, suicidality, and psychosocial factors associated with DSIB in a school-based sample of 11,880 students (49.5 % boys and 50.5 % girls). Approximately 30 % of the adolescents in the sample reported at least one incident of DSIB in the past 12-month period. After controlling for demographic variables, analyses of the independent relationships of DSIB with risky behaviors, suicidality, and psychosocial factors were conducted for each gender. Smoking, binge drinking, running away from home, suicide ideation, suicide plans, positive affect, and physical symptoms were identified as common factors associated with DSIB for both genders in the final model. In addition, truancy, fighting, physical inactivity, motor impulsiveness, and depressed affect were found to be related to DSIB in boys, whereas suicide attempts and somatic complaints were found to be related to DSIB in girls. Separation anxiety and social anxiety associated negatively with DSIB in boys and girls, respectively. DSIB was not found to independently relate to attention impulsiveness, non-planned impulsiveness, self-esteem, or harm avoidance in either genders. DSIB was prevalent in Chinese adolescents. Programs intended to promote physical and mental health in adolescents should take into account gender differences in DSIB-associated factors, including risky behaviors, suicidality, and psychosocial factors.     

Effects of previous delay of reward,generalized effort,and deprivation on impulsiveness

Two experiments investigated the effects of learning and motivational variables upon rats' degree of impulsiveness (choice of a small, immediate reward versus a large, delayed reward). In Experiment 1, food was presented in one of four ways for 24 sessions: fixed-ratio lever pressing requirement, continuous-reinforcement lever-pressing requirement, long intervals between free food presentations, or short intervals between free food presentations. Exposure to the long intervals produced less subsequent impulsiveness in 48 choice trials than did the short intervals, there being no effect of the instrumental requirement. In Experiment 2, there were 48 choice trials in which two hunger levels were combined factorially with two delays of reward for the self-control alternative. Hunger level did not affect implusiveness when there was a short delay, but high hunger increased the impulsiveness when there was a long delay. These results indicate that impulsiveness is affected by prior learning and current motivation. Implications for Baum, Rachlin, and Green's matching formula and for frustration theory are discussed.     

Risky behavior in young adult pedestrians: Personality determinants,correlates with risk perception,and gender differences

Based on the risk homeostasis theory, the aim of this study was to assess acceptable risk, measured by personality factors, and risk perception, measured by physiological arousal, as predictors of risky behavior in young adult pedestrians, as well as to assess for gender differences. Eighty-two young adults, aged 18–30, completed self-report measures about risky pedestrian behaviors and these personality traits: impulsiveness, conscientiousness and openness to experience. Sixty-four of these participants then took part in an experimental task designed to assess their perception of the level of risk in situations involving different interactions between cars and pedestrians. Risk perception was assessed by these physiological responses: heart rate, skin conductance level, and skin conductance response. Results showed that risky behavior had significant correlations with impulsiveness, conscientiousness, and skin conductance level. Gender differences also emerged in risky behavior, impulsiveness, conscientiousness, and skin conductance level. Finally, a structural equation model showed that impulsiveness, conscientiousness and the difference in skin conductance level between risky and neutral situations predicted risky pedestrian behaviors, and explained 23.6% of the its variance, after controlling the effect of gender. Implications for evaluation, prevention, and intervention for risky pedestrian behaviors are discussed.     

冲动性人格、亲子沟通对青少年网络成瘾的交互作用分析

本研究通过对1610名初一至高三学生的问卷调查,考察了冲动性人格、亲子沟通对青少年网络成瘾的交互影响。经过方差分析、相关分析和回归分析的结果表明：（1）与非网瘾青少年相比,网瘾倾向青少年的行动冲动性和无计划冲动性显著更高,与父亲和母亲的沟通都更差;（2）行动冲动性、认知冲动性和无计划冲动性均与青少年网络成瘾成显著正相关,而父子沟通和母子沟通均与青少年网络成瘾成显著负相关;（3）行动冲动性和无计划冲动性可正向预测青少年网络成瘾,但认知冲动性的预测作用不显著;母子沟通可负向预测青少年网络成瘾,但父子沟通的预测作用不显著;（4）行动冲动性和母子沟通对青少年网络成瘾存在交互影响,具体而言,对于低行动冲动性青少年而言,母子沟通对其网络成瘾具有显著的负向预测效应;但对于高行动冲动性青少年而言,母子沟通对其网络成瘾具有正向但不显著的预测作用。     

Autonomy,Filial Piety,and Parental Authority: A Two-Year Longitudinal Investigation

A 2-year longitudinal study was conducted to test 3 causal models about adolescent autonomy, filial piety, beliefs about parental authority, and obedience in terms of personal, prudential, and multifaceted issues. Four hundred and thirty-six students from 10 junior and senior high schools in Taiwan (boys, n = 223; senior high school, n = 211) participated in the study. Hypothesis 1 predicted that autonomy (individuating autonomy vs. relating autonomy) would positively correlate with beliefs about authority legitimacy and obligation to obey, but was not supported. Hypothesis 2 predicted that filial piety (authoritarian piety vs. reciprocal piety) would positively associate with authority beliefs, and was partially supported. Authoritarian piety showed the positive relation with authority beliefs. Hypothesis 3 predicted that beliefs about authority legitimacy and obligation to obey would positively associate with obedience, and was supported. Hypothesis 4 predicted that age might moderate the structure models across domains, but the results indicated that age did not moderate the structural model in the prudential and multifaceted domains. The overall findings of this study reveal that adolescent beliefs about authority serve as a mediator between authoritarian piety and obedience, suggesting that traditional piety still has an influence on parent–child interaction in today's society.     

Quick to Act,Quick to Forget: The Link Between Impulsiveness and Prospective Memory

Several traits of impulsiveness (e.g. lack of planning and perseverance, difficulty focusing attention) seem intimately connected to the skills required for successful prospective memory performance. This is the first study to examine whether the various inter‐correlated dimensions of impulsiveness are related to problems with prospective memory. Undergraduate students (N = 184) completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11, the Prospective Memory Questionnaire, the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire, and two objective prospective memory tests. Results revealed consistent correlations between the various dimensions of impulsiveness (attentional, motor, non‐planning) and self‐reported problems with prospective memory. Subsequent regression analyses indicated that attentional impulsiveness is a unique predictor of self‐reported problems with internally cued prospective memory, and non‐planning impulsiveness is a unique predictor of self‐reported problems with episodic and overall prospective memory. Similarly, findings from the objective prospective tests showed that non‐planning impulsiveness was related to worse performance on the two prospective memory tests. Whereas non‐planning impulsiveness was also related to using fewer prospective memory‐aiding strategies, mediation analyses showed that use of these strategies does not account for any of the detected relationships. Because the findings suggest that a failure to plan does not underlie the detected effects, other potential explanations for the relationships are discussed. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Extraversion,impulsiveness, and EEG alpha activity

Measures of spontaneous EEG activity in the 8–14-Hz band (alpha) obtained while subjects opened and closed their eyes on instruction were related to scores on the EPQ-E scale and scales of narrow and broad impulsiveness. Subjects with high scores on narrow impulsiveness were found to show less alpha activity than subjects with low scores. No significant relationships with alpha activity emerged for the other personality scales. It is concluded that impulsiveness rather than EPQ-E is the major correlate of differences in EEG-defined arousal.     

Subscales of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale differentially relate to the Big Five factors of personality

The place of impulsiveness in multidimensional personality frameworks is still unclear. In particular, no consensus has yet been reached with regard to the relation of impulsiveness to Neuroticism and Extraversion. We aim to contribute to a clearer understanding of these relationships by accounting for the multidimensional structure of impulsiveness. In three independent studies, we related the subscales of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) to the Big Five factors of personality. Study 1 investigated the associations between the BIS subscales and the Big Five factors as measured by the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory (NEO‐FFI) in a student sample (N = 113). Selective positive correlations emerged between motor impulsiveness and Extraversion and between attentional impulsiveness and Neuroticism. This pattern of results was replicated in Study 2 (N = 132) using a 10‐item short version of the Big Five Inventory. In Study 3, we analyzed BIS and NEO‐FFI data obtained from a sample of patients with pathological buying (N = 68). In these patients, the relationship between motor impulsiveness and Extraversion was significantly weakened when compared to the non‐clinical samples. At the same time, the relationship between attentional impulsiveness and Neuroticism was substantially stronger in the clinical sample. Our studies highlight the utility of the BIS subscales for clarifying the relationship between impulsiveness and the Big Five personality factors. We conclude that impulsiveness might occupy multiple places in multidimensional personality frameworks, which need to be specified to improve the interpretability of impulsiveness scales.     

The relationship between impulsiveness subtraits,trait anxiety,and visual N100 augmenting/reducing: A topographic analysis

The relationship between impulsiveness subtraits assessed by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-10), the trait anxiety subscale of the State-Trait Personality Inventory (STPI), and the topographic distribution of visual N100 augmenting/reducing (AR) was examined. Topographic event-related potential (ERP) data were collected from an array of 14 electrodes covering the left side of the head while subjects counted the total number of light flashes presented at two different but equiprobable intensities. Principal components analysis of the ERP data yielded a factor accounting for 13.9% of the total variance around the grand mean waveform that corresponded to the N100 wave clearly visible in the raw waveforms. For each subject by scalp locus combination, an AR score was computed by subtracting the factor score associated with the bright flashes from the factor score associated with the dim flashes. The correlations between AR scores and scores on the BIS-10 cognitive impulsiveness subscale were significant (P < 0.01) at all scalp loci with the exception of the extreme frontal and occipital poles. Correlations with the BIS-10 motor impulsiveness subscale had a similar scalp distribution. Correlations with the BIS-10 non-planning impulsiveness subscale were significant over the frontal third of the scalp, including the frontal pole. Trait anxiety was not significantly related at the 0.01 level to AR scores. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Attitudes,values and moral reasoning as predictors of delinquency

Attitudes to institutional authority, strength of support for moral values and maturity of socio‐moral reasoning have all been identified as potential predictors of adolescent delinquency. In a sample of 12–15‐year‐old boys (N = 789), after checking for effects of age, IQ, social background and ethnicity, self‐reported delinquency was significantly and independently predicted by attitudes to authority (r = ?.47) and moral values (r = ?.27), but not by a structural measure of moral reasoning level (r = ?.04). The findings argue for closer attention to the developmental determinants of attitudes to institutional authority and strength of moral value commitments than these have received hitherto. On the other hand, lack of an association between moral reasoning level and delinquent conduct does leave unanswered questions about the consequences of this kind of moral competence.     

The relationship between the EPI extraversion score and impulsiveness on a perceptual-motor task

This paper describes an investigation of the relationship between extraversion and impulsiveness. These two traits were measured respectively by the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and the IES Arrow-Dot test. The subjects were 50 males and 50 females matched for age. Arrow-Dot impulsiveness was found to correlate significantly with extraversion in both samples. In the female sample Arrow-Dot impulsiveness correlated only significantly with the ‘impulsiveness’ component of extraversion. In the male sample both the ‘impulsiveness’ and ‘sociability’ components of the extraversion factor contributed about equally to its variance.     

The conceptual commonality between impulsiveness as a personality trait and as an ego development stage

This research was an attempt to demonstrate the conceptual commonality between impulsiveness as a trait and as an ego development stage through correlations on measures of both. An Eysenckian measure of broad trait impulsiveness (Imp_B) consisting of four impulsiveness subscales, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) of ego development were administered to 62 male students and 101 female students distributed across three different educational levels (Junior High, Senior High and College). Significant correlations between Imp_B and the WUSCT (-0.23 for the males and -0.31 for the females) supported the hypothesized commonality. Correlations between the WUSCT and the four impulsiveness subscales indicated that Narrow Impulsiveness and Risk-taking were more indicative of ego development than Non-planning or Liveliness. Age trends in the patterns of correlations demonstrated that the commonality between trait impulsiveness and ego development was limited to the early stages of ego development. Sex differences on a number of trait measures and on the WUSCT indicated that males lag behind females in ego development during adolescence. It was hypothesized that the aspect of impulsiveness most indicative of ego development was an unsocialized aspect which might be captured by Eysenck's dimension of psychoticism (P). Correlations between P and WUSCT supported this hypothesis (-0.49 for the males and -0.29 for the females). P apparently has more concept commonality with ego development than has trait impulsiveness. Age trends and sex differences in impulsiveness, psychoticism, and aggressiveness were discussed. It was argued that these personality characteristics would be better understood if explored within a developmental framework such as ego development.     

How impulsiveness, trait anger, and extracurricular activities might affect aggression in school children

Individual differences in personality traits such as impulsivity and trait anger as well as environmental variables have an impact on aggressiveness. We tested a model incorporating the related variables of impulsiveness, trait anger, and aggression and incorporated the possible mediating influences of leisure-time activities. Regression analyses of data from 1129 pre-adolescents and 1093 adolescents (55.4% females) from a study evaluating the Spanish version of the Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire (AQ; Santisteban, Alvarado, & Recio, 2007) showed a relation between impulsiveness (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) and aggression (AQ). Trait anger (Spielberger’s State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory), the time spent watching TV and playing video games, and the time spent doing homework (all related to impulsiveness) also are related to physical, as well as verbal aggression (with low to moderate coefficients). Multiple mediation analyses confirm that media violence exposure and homework, respectively, can have aggravating and attenuating effects on self-reported aggression. These results provide key variables for longitudinal studies which could reveal the causal nature of the results found with our cross-sectional design.     

Mapping self‐reported to behavioral impulsiveness: The role of task parameters

Despite being regarded as indicators of a common psychological capacity, behavioral and self‐reported measures of impulsiveness have been found to barely correlate with each other. Acknowledging the construct's multidimensional nature, the present study set out to map dissociable components of behavioral self‐control (delay discounting, response inhibition) onto lower‐order facets of self‐reported impulsiveness. In addition, we examined whether the relationship between response inhibition and self‐reported impulsiveness depends on the balance between facilitative and interfering priming processes involved in a laboratory task. In two consecutive studies, 185 participants completed laboratory self‐control tasks as well as self‐report questionnaires designed to measure facets of impulsiveness. Correlational analyses revealed an association between subscales of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) and response inhibition in a go/no‐go paradigm involving simultaneously presented task‐irrelevant distractors. This association vanished when an onset asynchrony between distractor and target stimuli was introduced. Previous findings regarding correlations between BIS subscales and delay discounting or intra‐individual response variability could not be replicated. Results indicate that the relationship between response inhibition and self‐reported impulsiveness critically varies as a function of subtle task parameters. Focusing on these procedural details and the multidimensionality of self‐reported impulsiveness might allow for a more differentiated analysis of the convergent validity of self‐control measures.     

Moving beyond the trait conceptualization of self-esteem: The prospective effect of impulsiveness, coping, and risky behavior engagement

Past research has largely focused on examining self-esteem as an independent as opposed to a dependent variable. At the same time, research suggests that during adolescence, self-esteem is subject to yearly, monthly, as well as daily change, and consequently, it is important to identify underlying vulnerability factors and behaviors, which shape self-esteem lability. In the current multi-wave, longitudinal study, 142 adolescents between the ages of 12-18 completed monthly assessments across 4 months. At the initial assessment, adolescents provided self-report data pertaining to impulsiveness, maladaptive coping, risky behavior engagement, and self-esteem. At each of the follow-up assessments, adolescents provided information about risky behavior engagement and self-esteem. Results of time-lagged, idiographic multilevel mediation analyzes indicated that risky behavior engagement mediated the relationship between impulsiveness/maladaptive coping and subsequent low self-esteem. Critically, when included in the same model, impulsiveness was significant above and beyond maladaptive coping. Additionally, the reverse model with self-esteem as the predictor and risky behavior included as the dependent variable was not significant suggesting that our effect was unidirectional. As a whole, these findings suggest that impulsive youth may engage in behaviors, which ultimately precipitate negative self-evaluations and transient declines in self-esteem.     

ADHD and Judgments of Impulsivity in Rule Violations

Abstract

Participants with ADHD (n?=?45) and participants without ADHD (n?=?130, total n?=?175) judged hypothetical moral and conventional rule violations that varied the impulsivity of the act, the ADHD diagnosis, and the gender of the actor in order to examine (1) social reasoning about impulsiveness and (2) whether participants infer impulsiveness from the characteristics of the actor, including gender and ADHD-status. Moral violations were judged more negatively than conventional violations, even when they were impulsive. The characteristics of the actor influenced judgments in that participants judged boys’ behavior as more acceptable, as having less control, and as deserving of less punishment compared to girls. In addition, actors who were described as having ADHD were judged overall more positively. Participants with ADHD judged that all actors should receive similar punishment, regardless of the actor’s ADHD diagnosis, while participants without ADHD judged actors with ADHD should receive less punishment than those without.