ساختار تکانشگری بازبینی شده

We examine the construct of impulsivity using an organismic-developmental approach. Trait impulsivity was assessed by means of both the Impulsiveness Questionnaire (I7 or I5) and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11 or BIS-11-A). Cognitive impulsivity was assessed by means of a computerized Matching Familiar Figures Test, the Porteus Maze Test, the Trail Making Test, a computerized Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, and Circle Tracing. Our data were collected from a total of 182 individuals, ranging in age between 14 and 22 years, divided into two groups. Participants were tested individually, and completed the tests in one session lasting approximately 1.5 h. We were able to substantiate our prediction that the multi-faceted construct of impulsivity becomes more differentiated with age: factor analysis revealed two impulsivity factors in the younger age group (primarily ages 14 and 16), and three impulsivity factors in the older group (primarily ages 20 and 22).

The large number of impulsivity measures to be found in the literature—assessing cognitive impulsivity, trait impulsivity, or motor impulsivity (Barratt and Stanford, 1995 and Kindlon et al., 1995)—indicates the growing interest in this construct (Evenden, 1999). Yet, impulsivity is not clearly defined, and the definition varies across studies (Carrillo-de-la-Peña et al., 1993, Kindlon et al., 1995 and Milich and Kramer, 1984). This leads to inconsistent and contradictory findings (Carrillo-de-la-Peña et al., 1993 and White et al., 1994). In this study, we examine the construct of impulsivity using an organismic-developmental approach, in line with Werner’s orthogenetic principle (Werner, 1978, pp. 108–109)—that is to say, we postulate a unified construct which develops over time into one having differentiated factors. Specifically, we suggest that the measures defining the construct should therefore become less differentiated (or de-differentiated) with decreasing age. This approach also gains support from some comments made recently, to the effect that “impulsiveness is much less differentiated in adolescence and probably evidences increased differentiation with advancing age” ( Fossati, Barratt, Acquarini, & Di Ceglie, 2002). In factor-analytic terms, we operationalize this notion as follows: with decreasing age, fewer factors should be revealed. To test this hypothesis, we use a number of measures that fall within the domain of impulsivity, broadly constructed.