Skip to main content

UPPS Model of Impulsivity

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
  • 166 Accesses

Synonyms

Impulsivity; Nicotine; Risky sexual behaviors; UPPS model

Definition

Although impulsivity is one of the most prevalent risk factors for a wide range of clinical disorders, problems, and risk-taking behaviors (e.g., Evenden 1999; Zapolski et al. 2010a), the use of different conceptualizations for impulsivity is problematic. Whiteside and Lynam (2001) created the UPPS model of impulsive behavior in order to synthesize existing impulsivity-related scales and definitions into one comprehensive, multidimensional scale of impulsive personality. The UPPS-P scale has since become an increasingly popular gold standard for the measurement of multiple separate, though related, aspects of impulsivity-related tendencies. The use of this scale has improved psychometric measurement of impulsivity while at the same time improving the prediction of different forms of risk-taking behaviors. This entry will describe the development of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale, discuss the research...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Pub.

    Google Scholar 

  • Billieux, J., Rochat, L., Ceschi, G., Carre, A., Offerlin-Meyer, I., Defeldre, A.-C., … Van der Linden, M. (2012). Validation of a short French version of the UPPS-P impulsive behavior scale. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 53(5), 609–615.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birthrong, A., & Latzman, R. (2014). Aspects of impulsivity are differentially associated with risky sexual behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences, 57, 8–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Candido, A., Orduna, E., Perales, J., Verdejo-Garcia, A., & Billieux, J. (2012). Validation of a short Spanish version of the UPPS-P impulsive behaviour scale. Addictive Disorders, 14(3), 73–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., Johnson, S. L., Joormann, J., Kim, Y., & Nam, J. Y. (2011). Serotonin transporter polymorphism interacts with childhood adversity to predict aspects of impulsivity. Psychological Science, 22, 589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coskunpinar, A., Dir, A. L., & Cyders, M. A. (2013). Multidimensionality in impulsivity and alcohol use: A meta-analysis using the UPPS model of impulsivity. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 37(9), 1441–1450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyders, M. (2013). Impulsivity and the sexes: Measurement and structural invariance of the UPPS-P impulsive behavior scale. Assessment, 20(1), 86–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyders, M. A., & Coskunpinar, A. (2011). Measurement of constructs using self-report and behavioral lab tasks: Is there overlap in nomothetic span and construct representation for impulsivity? Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 965–982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyders, M. A., & Smith, G. T. (2007). Mood-based rash action and its components: Positive and negative urgency. Personality and Indivudual Differences, 43(4), 839–850.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyders, M., Smith, G., Fischer, S., Annus, A., & Peterson, C. (2007). Integration of impulsivity and positive mood to predict risky behavior: Development and validation of a measure of positive urgency. Psychological Assessment, 19(1), 107–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyders, M., Littlefield, A., Coffey, S., & Karyadi, K. (2014). Examination of a short English version of the UPPS-P impulsive behavior scale. Addictive Behaviors, 39(9), 1372–1376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cyders, M. A., Coskunpinar, A., & VanderVeen, J. D., & American Psychiatric Association. (2016). Urgency: A common transdiagnostic endophenotype for maladaptive risk-taking. The dark side of personality: Science and practice in social, personality, and clinical psychology. Washington, DC, USA: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • d’Acremont, M., & Van der Linden, M. (2005). Adolescent impulsivity: Findings from a community sample. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(5), 427–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deckman, T., & DeWall, C. N. (2011). Negative urgency and risky sexual behaviors: A clarification of the relationship between impulsivity and risky sexual behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(5), 674–678.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derefinko, K., Peters, J., Eisenlohr-Moul, T., Walsh, E., Adams, Z., & Lynam, D. (2014). Relations between trait impulsivity, behavioral impulsivity, physiological arousal, and risky sexual behavior among young men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43(6), 1149–1158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dir, A. L., Coskunpinar, A., & Cyders, M. A. (2014). A meta-analytic review of the relationship between adolescent risky sexual behavior and impulsivity across gender, age, and race. Clinical Psychology Review, 34(7), 551–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dir, A. L., & Cyders, M. A. (2015). Risks, risk factors, and outcomes associated with phone and internet sexting among university students in the United States. Archives of sexual behavior, 44(6), 1675–1684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doran, N., Khoddam, R., Sanders, P. E., Schweizer, C. A., Trim, R. S., & Myers, M. G. (2013). A prospective study of the acquired preparedness model: The effects of impulsivity and expectancies on smoking initiation in college students. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27(3), 714–722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edenberg, H. J., Dick, D. M., Xuei, X., Tian, H., Almasy, L., Bauer, L. O., … Kwon, J. (2004). Variations in GABRA2, encoding the α2 subunit of the GABA A receptor, are associated with alcohol dependence and with brain oscillations. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 74(4), 705–714.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esquirol, E. (1845). Mental maladies; a treatise on insanity. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evenden, J. L. (1999). Varieties of impulsivity. Psychopharmacology, 146(4), 348–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fenichel, O. (1945). Neurotic acting out. The Psychoanalytic Review (1913–1957), 32, 197.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrier, D. (1878). The localisation of cerebral disease: Being the Gulstonian lectures of the Royal College of Physicians for 1878. London: Smith, Elder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, S., & Smith, G. T. (2008). Binge eating, problem drinking, and pathological gambling: Linking behavior to shared traits and social learning. Personality and Individual Differences, 44(4), 789–800.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1920). The collected works of Sigmund Freud. USA: Library of Alexandria.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kämpfe, N., & Mitte, K. (2009). A German validation of the UPPS impulsive behavior scale: Further evidence for a four-dimensional model of impulsivity. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 25(4), 252–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keye, D., Wilhelm, O., & Oberauer, K. (2009). Structure and correlates of the German version of the Brief UPPS impulsive behavior scales. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 25(3), 175–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kincaid, C., Jones, D., Sterrett, E., & Mckee, L. (2012). A review of parenting and adolescent sexual behavior: The moderating role of gender. Clinical Psychology Review, 32(3), 177–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraepelin, E. (1904). Lectures on clinical psychiatry. London: Baillière, Tindall and Cox.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, D. C., Peters, J. R., Adams, Z. W., Milich, R., & Lynam, D. R. (2015). Specific dimensions of impulsivity are differentially associated with daily and non-daily cigarette smoking in young adults. Addictive Behaviors, 46, 82–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynam, D., Smith, G. T., Cyders, M. A., Fischer, S., & Whiteside, S. A. (2007). The UPPS-P: A multidimensional measure of risk for impulsive behavior. Unpublished technical report.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmgreen, P., Donohew, L., Lorch, E. P., Hoyle, R. H., & Stephenson, M. T. (2001). Television campaigns and adolescent marijuana use: Tests of sensation seeking targeting. American Journal of Public Health, 91(2), 292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Racine, S. E., Keel, P. K., Burt, S. A., Sisk, C. L., Neale, M., Boker, S., & Klump, K. L. (2013). Exploring the relationship between negative urgency and dysregulated eating: Etiologic associations and the role of negative affect. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122(2), 433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, G. T., & Cyders, M. A. (2016). Integrating affect and impulsivity: The role of positive and negative urgency in substance use risk. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 163, S3–S12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, G. T., Fischer, S., & Fister, S. M. (2003). Incremental validity principles in test construction. Psychological Assessment, 15(4), 467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spillane, N. S., Smith, G. T., & Kahler, C. W. (2010). Impulsivity-like traits and smoking behavior in college students. Addictive Behaviors, 35(7), 700–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spillane, N. S., Combs, J., Kahler, C., & Smith, G. T. (2013). Emotion-based impulsivity, smoking expectancies, and nicotine dependence in college students. Addiction Research & Theory, 21(6), 489–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VanderVeen, J. D., Hershberger, A. R., & Cyders, M. A. (2016). UPPS-P model impulsivity and marijuana use behaviors in adolescents: A meta-analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 168, 181–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verdejo-Garcia, A., Lozano, O., Moya, M., Alcazar, M., & Perez-Garcia, M. (2010). Psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the UPPS-P impulsive behavior scale: Reliability, validity, and association with trait and cognitive impulsivity. Journal of Personality Assessment, 92(1), 70–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whiteside, S. P., & Lynam, D. R. (2001). The five factor model and impulsivity: Using a structural model of personality to understand impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 30(4), 669–689.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zapolski, T., Cyders, M., & Smith, G. (2009). Positive urgency predicts illegal drug use and risky sexual behavior. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(2), 348–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zapolski, T. C., Settles, R. E., Cyders, M. A., & Smith, G. T. (2010a). Borderline personality disorder, bulimia nervosa, antisocial personality disorder, ADHD, substance use: Common threads, common treatment needs, and the nature of impulsivity. Independent Practitioner (Lutterworth England), 30(1), 20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zapolski, T., Stairs, A., Settles, R., Combs, J., & Smith, G. (2010b). The measurement of dispositions to rash action in children. Assessment, 17(1), 116–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melissa A. Cyders .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Sanders, J., Hershberger, A.R., Cyders, M.A. (2018). UPPS Model of Impulsivity. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2131-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2131-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics