Impulsivity is a personality-based risk factor that has been well studied in relation to risky sexual behavior. Recent conceptualizations of impulsivity have proposed multidimensional facets comprised of premeditation, perseverance, sensation seeking, negative urgency, and positive urgency (UPPS-P model). Prior studies have found that these facets are associated with risky sexual behavior in adolescent and college student samples, but no prior studies have evaluated them in clinical samples. The current study examined how impulsivity-related traits related to two different risky sexual behaviors in a clinical sample of at-risk young adults who had both conduct disorder and substance use disorder symptoms as adolescents (n = 529). Lack of premeditation was also tested as a moderator of the relationship between facets of impulsivity and both risky sex outcomes. Results demonstrated that sensation seeking, negative urgency, and positive urgency were correlated with risky sex behaviors. Additionally, multiple regression analyses indicated that sensation seeking was uniquely associated with the number of sexual partners in the past 5 years, whereas positive urgency was uniquely associated with unprotected sex while under the influence. Finally, a significant interaction between lack of premeditation and negative urgency suggests that at-risk young adults with both high negative urgency and lack of premeditation were the likeliest to have the most sexual partners in the past 5 years. This study adds to the current understanding of the relationship between reward- and affect-driven facets of impulsivity and risky sexual behaviors and may lend utility to the development of interventions for at-risk populations.

Risky driving behaviors are disproportionately high among young adults and impulsivity is a robust risk factor. Recent conceptualizations have proposed multidimensional facets of impulsivity comprised of negative urgency, premeditation, perseverance, sensation seeking, and positive urgency (UPPS-P model). Prior studies have found these facets are associated with risky driving behaviors in college student samples, but no prior studies have examined these facets in clinical samples. This study examined the unique and interactive effects of UPPS-P impulsivity facets on past-year risky driving behaviors in a sample of high-risk young adults (ages 18–30 years) with a history of substance use and antisocial behavior and their siblings (n=1,100). Multilevel Poisson regressions indicated that sensation seeking and negative urgency were uniquely and positively associated with both frequency of past-year reckless driving and driving under the influence. Moreover, lack of premeditation was uniquely and positively associated with reckless driving, whereas lack of perseverance was uniquely and positively associated with driving under the influence. Furthermore, lack of premeditation moderated and strengthened the positive association between sensation seeking and driving under the influence. These study findings suggest that assessing multiple facets of trait impulsivity could facilitate targeted prevention efforts among young adults with a history of externalizing psychopathology.

These findings suggest that positive expectancies are an important risk factor for marijuana use and misuse, particularly for at-risk individuals with elevated rates of sensation seeking. Positive marijuana expectancies may be important to address in interventions for at-risk individuals. (Am J Addict 2018;XX:1-6).