Psychometric Properties of the German Version of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Version 11 (Bis–11) for Adolescents

Abstract

Impulsiveness is increasingly gaining attention as a potential risk factor for various mental disorders. Until now, there have been German instruments that allowed for assessing adolescents' self-reported impulsiveness multi-dimensionally. The present study examined the German version of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11) for adolescents. The instrument was completed by 659 adolescents ages 10 to 20 years; 98 were retested after 6 months. Items showed adequate psychometric properties. An exploratory factor analysis identified three factors that showed slightdifferences from the initial questionnaire proposed by Barratt. The factors showed low to moderate intercorrelations, satisfactory internal consistency (dependent on factor), and were stable over time. Convergent validity was ascertained, and the item pool showed sufficient power to discriminate adolescents with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and those with loss of eating control from healthy adolescents. Findings suggest that the German BIS-11 is appropriate for reliable investigation of impulsiveness in adolescents. Future research should examine sensitivity as a screening tool, as well as sensitivity to change.

Impulsivity components measured by the Brazilian version of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11)

“…Inhibitory control could be defi ned as the ability to suppress internal stimuli that may interfere with the current operations of working memory by keeping unwanted or non-relevant thoughts out of mind and/or to inhibit a dominant or prepotent primary response (Barkley, 1997). The observed structured differed from Barratt's aim to measure attention and motor constructs separately (Patton et al, 1995), but it corroborates Patton's conclusion that basic cognitive processes might underlie the personality trait of impulsiveness (Hartmann & Rief, 2011;Patton, et al, 1995). The second factor included non-planning items and referred to the ability to delay gratifi cation and evaluate future outcomes of a planned action (Evenden, 1999).…”

Psychometric properties of a Norwegian adaption of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale‐11 in a sample of Parkinson patients, headache patients, and controls

“…The second time all were told that they should answer the questions anew and not try to remember what they had answered the last time. Previous studies have used varying test‐recall test times of 2 to 6 months (Fossati, Di Ceglie, Acquarini, & Barratt, 2001; Gülec et al., 2008; Hartmann et al., 2011; Someya et al., 2001). Though our test–retest correlations were high, they were generally at a similar level as these studies except for some of the factors in the three‐factor models from some studies, which had a reduced test–retest correlation, the lowest ( r  = .30 and r  = .37 for nonplanning and motor impulsivity, respectively), as expected, being for the study with the longest test–retest interval (Hartmann et al., 2011).…”

“…It has been validated for use in children/adolescents (Cosi et al., 2008; Hartmann et al., 2011; Li & Chen, 2007; von Diemen et al., 2007) and among elderly (Tamam, Bican, & Keskin, 2014). BIS‐11 has also been used among PD patients Antonini et al, 2011; Smulders et al, 2014 among patients with depression (Lu et al., 2012; reviewed in Saddichha & Schuetz, 2014) as well as in combinations of both (Fonoff et al., 2015).…”

“…ICDs have also been studied (binge eating: [Akkermann et al, 2010], substance dependence: [Gülec et al., 2008], prison inmates: [Patton et al., 1995], elderly with ICDs: [Tamam et al., 2014]). Various language versions have also been well validated in control subjects (Fossati et al., 2001; Gülec et al., 2008; Hartmann et al., 2011; Li & Chen, 2007; Patton et al., 1995; Reise et al., 2013; Someya et al., 2001; Steinberg et al., 2013). …”

“…There have been many studies focusing on ICDs and impulsive behavior among young adults and youth (Cosi, Vigil‐Colet, Canals, & Lorenzo‐Seva, 2008; Hartmann, Rief, & Hilbert, 2011; Li & Chen, 2007; von Diemen, Szobot, Kessler, & Pechansky, 2007). Less is known of impulse control among elderly.…”