Disentangling impulsiveness, aggressiveness and impulsive aggression: an empirical approach using self-report measures

Psychiatry Res. 2009 Jun 30;168(1):40-9. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2008.04.002. Epub 2009 May 22.

Abstract

There is confusion in the literature concerning the concept of impulsive aggression. Based on previous research, we hypothesize that impulsivity and aggression may be related, though not as closely as to consider them the same construct. So, our aim was to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between the impulsivity and aggressiveness constructs when considered as traits. Two widely used questionnaires [Barratt's Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) and Aggression Questionnaire-Refined (AQ-R)] were administered to 768 healthy respondents. Product-moment and canonical correlations were then calculated. In addition, a principal components analysis was conducted to explore whether impulsive aggression can be defined phenotypically as the expression of a single trait. The common variance between impulsivity and aggressiveness was never higher than 42%. The principal components analysis reveals that one component is not enough to represent all the variables. In conclusion, our results show that impulsivity and aggressiveness are two separate, although related constructs. This is particularly important in view of the misconceptions in the literature.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Historical Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aggression / classification
  • Aggression / psychology*
  • Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / classification
  • Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / psychology
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • History, Medieval
  • Humans
  • Impulsive Behavior / classification
  • Impulsive Behavior / diagnosis*
  • Impulsive Behavior / psychology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Personality Disorders / classification
  • Personality Disorders / diagnosis
  • Personality Disorders / psychology
  • Personality Inventory / statistics & numerical data*
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Psychometrics
  • Surveys and Questionnaires