Dimensions of Impulsivity in Healthy People, Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder, and Patients with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Linhartová P, Širůček J, Ejova A, Barteček R, Theiner P, Kašpárek T. J Atten Disord. 2019 Jan 10:1087054718822121.
Guest Commentary by Dr. Margaret Weiss: This is an original attempt to deconstruct the components of impulsivity and to look at differences in how impulsivity presents in typically developing adults, adults with borderline personality disorder, and adults with ADHD.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Impulsivity, observed in patients with various psychiatric disorders, is a heterogeneous construct with different behavioral manifestations. Through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), this study tests hypotheses about relationships between dimensions of impulsivity measured using personality questionnaires and behavioral tests.
METHOD: The study included 200 healthy people, 40 patients with borderline personality disorder, and 26 patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who underwent a comprehensive impulsivity test battery including the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale, a Go-NoGo task, a stop-signal task, and a delay discounting task.
RESULTS: A CFA model comprising three self-reported and three behavioral latent variables reached a good fit. Both patient groups scored higher in the self-reported dimensions and impulsive choice; only the ADHD patients displayed impaired waiting and stopping impulsivity.
CONCLUSIONS: Using the developed CFA model, it is possible to describe relations between impulsivity dimensions and show different impulsivity patterns in patient populations.
* Dr. Margaret Weiss is Director of Clinical Research, Child Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard University. Her commentary reflects her own opinion. It is not approved or necessarily representative of the CADDRA board.