Self-Reported Impulsivity and its Relation to Executive Functions in Interned Youth

Nordvall, Olov; Neely, Anna Stigsdotter; Jonsson, Bert · 2017 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1080/13218719.2017.1327312

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Summary

This study investigates the relationship between self-reported impulsivity and executive functioning (EF) in adolescents with a history of antisocial behavior. While impulsivity is known to increase during adolescence and correlate with antisocial outcomes, research on detained youth using recent trait-based models of impulsivity is scarce. The authors aimed to determine how specific impulsivity traits differ between interned youth and an age-matched control group, and to examine how these traits relate to three core executive functions: inhibition, shifting, and updating. The study included 37 interned adolescents (mean age 17.7) recruited from Swedish correctional facilities and 39 non-interned controls (mean age 17.3) from local schools. Participants completed the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale, which measures four impulsivity facets: Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, and Sensation Seeking. Executive functioning was assessed using a battery of performance-based tasks, including the Stroop test and D-KEFS for inhibition, Alternating Runs and D-KEFS for shifting, and the n-back and Running Span tasks for updating. Statistical analyses included MANOVA to compare groups and regression analyses to predict impulsivity traits from EF composites. Results indicated that interned youth scored significantly higher on Urgency, Premeditation, and Perseverance than the control group, indicating greater behavioral dyscontrol. However, no significant group difference was found for Sensation Seeking. In terms of executive functioning, interned youth performed worse on most EF tasks, particularly updating and inhibition. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that EF composites significantly predicted UPPS Premeditation, accounting for approximately 18% of its variance. Specifically, the updating and inhibition functions were significant predictors of Premeditation, with updating showing the strongest association. Urgency correlated with shifting, and Perseverance correlated with updating, but Sensation Seeking was unrelated to any executive function measure. The findings suggest that impulsivity in interned youth is primarily driven by deficits in cognitive control, specifically the inability to premeditate actions, rather than by sensation-seeking tendencies. This supports the dual systems model of adolescent development, which posits that antisocial behavior in this population may stem from an imbalance between a mature socioemotional system and an underdeveloped cognitive control system. The strong link between updating/working memory and lack of premeditation implies that interventions targeting executive functioning, particularly working memory updating, could be beneficial for rehabilitating adolescents with impulsivity-related antisocial behaviors.

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• sensation seeking