Impulsivity and the Sexes

Abstract

Before it is possible to test whether men and women differ in impulsivity, it is necessary to evaluate whether impulsivity measures are invariant across sex. The UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale (negative urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and sensation seeking, with added subscale of positive urgency) is one measure of five dispositions toward rash action that has shown to have robust and clinically useful relationships among risk-taking outcomes. In the current research, the author examined (a) the psychometric measurement invariance of the UPPS-P across sex, (b) the scale's structural invariance across sex, and (c) whether the five impulsivity traits differentially relate to risk outcomes as a function of sex. In a sample of 1,372 undergraduates, the author found evidence for measurement and invariance across sex: Thus, comparisons of men and women on the UPPS-P can be considered valid. Additionally, although males tend to report higher levels of sensation seeking and positive urgency (and possibly lack of perseverance), the relationships between the UPPS-P traits and risk outcomes were generally invariant across sex. The UPPS-P appears to function comparably across males and females, and mean differences on this scale between the sexes can be thought to reflect trait-level differences.

A genetic variant within STS previously associated with inattention in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is associated with enhanced cognition in healthy adult males

“…Levels of inattention and impulsivity within Cohort 1, as indexed by questionnaire‐based measures, were relatively low and comparable with previous data in healthy adult male populations (Cyders, 2013; Stanford et al., 2009). We found no evidence that males with C‐ or G‐alleles differed from one another in terms of their self‐reported impulsivity scores on the BIS‐11 or UPPS questionnaires (subset A, Table   2), or in terms of their self‐reported ADHD‐related traits (subset B, Table   3).…”

Relationship between impulsivity and alcohol consumption in Argentinean men and women

“…Profundizar el conocimiento acerca de la afinidad entre cada dimensión de impulsividad con cada arista de la conducta de consumo permitirá, por ejemplo, planificar estrategias de reducción de la cantidad de consumo de alcohol que trabajen dimensiones específicas de impulsividad. Un conocimiento adecuado de estas relaciones será clave para la identificación de personas a riesgo y para el diseño de intervenciones grupales o individuales destinadas a prevenir los problemas asociados a la conducta impulsiva (Cyders, 2013).…”

“…Los hombres, comparados con las mujeres, exhiben un mayor nivel de búsqueda de sensaciones (Cross, Cyrenne y Brown, 2013;Cyders, 2013; Cupani, Pilatti, Urrizaga, Chincolla y Richaud de Minzi, 2014; Quinn y Fromme, 2010) y de urgencia positiva (Cyders, 2013). Las mujeres, en cambio, presentan puntuaciones más altas en urgencia negativa (Cyders, 2013;Pilatti, Lozano y Cyders, 2015).…”

“…Las mujeres, en cambio, presentan puntuaciones más altas en urgencia negativa (Cyders, 2013;Pilatti, Lozano y Cyders, 2015). Sumado a esto, hombres y mujeres presentan diferencias conductuales y fisioló-gicas en relación al uso de alcohol y en el tipo de consecuencias negativas que experimentan bajo los efectos del alcohol (Pilatti, Read et al, 2014).…”

“…Más allá de las diferencias mencionadas, se observó que las asociaciones entre las subescalas de la UPPS-P y diferentes indicadores de consumo de alcohol (Coskunpinar et al, 2013) son similares en hombres y mujeres (Cyders, 2013). La abrumadora mayoría de los trabajos previos, sin embargo, se realizó en población anglosajona (Henrich, Heine y Norenzayan, 2010), lo que acota severamente la generalización y aplicabilidad de los resultados.…”