Impulsivity and Intrusive Thoughts: Related Manifestations of Self-Control Difficulties?

Abstract

Impulsive behaviors and intrusive thoughts are prominent in psychopathology. Two studies were conducted to explore their relationships. In Study 1, 250 participants completed the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale and the Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ). In Study 2 involving a sample of 97 female students, the relations between impulsivity and different types of thought control difficulties were examined. Both negative urgency and lack of perseverance were significantly related to the tendency to experience intrusive thoughts as measured by the TCAQ, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, the obsessing subscale of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, and an intrusion subscale of the White Bear Suppression Inventory. Regression analyses revealed that negative urgency and lack of perseverance independently contributed to worries and thought control difficulties and that negative urgency was the strongest predictor of all types of intrusions. On the basis of these findings, the authors discuss cognitive processes and content that may be related the different facets of impulsivity.

Shared and Distinct Cognitive/Affective Mechanisms in Intrusive Cognition: An Examination of Worry and Obsessions

“…However, contrary to predictions, repugnant obsessions were not the only OCD symptoms associated with unique variance in self-reported AC, with variance also shared by ordering symptoms. In contrast, repugnant obsessions were found to be the only OCD symptom type associated with NU, consistent with our hypothesis and prior literature on NU and obsessions in student samples (Cougle et al, 2012; Gay et al, 2011). Results failed to support our hypothesis that NU and perceived AC would interact for repugnant obsessions; only main effects emerged.…”

“…In a large community sample, poorer self-reported AC and greater NU were associated with more severe worry symptoms, even after controlling for trait negative affect, replicating prior findings in clinical and student samples (Armstrong et al, 2011; Gay et al, 2011; Hirsh et al, 2013; Pawluk & Koerner, 2013). Similarly, poorer self-reported AC was also related to greater repugnant obsessions independent of trait negative affect.…”

“…The positive associations found between NU and repugnant obsessions/worry contribute to the growing literature on the relationship between NU and intrusive thoughts (Gay et al, 2011). The unique relationship between NU and the unacceptable thoughts factor of the DOCS is consistent with past literature on differences between repugnant obsessions, which are associated with less overt compulsive behavior (Moulding et al, 2014), and contamination, checking, and ordering obsessions (Brakoulias et al, 2013; Hasler et al, 2005; Lee et al, 2009).…”

“…One such variable is negative urgency (NU), a trait-level facet of impulsivity defined as the propensity to engage in distress-elicited rash action, generally to obtain immediate negative reinforcement (Cyders & Smith, 2008). Although impulsivity is not typically considered in internalizing disorders, a growing body of research suggests that NU is associated with multiple forms of intrusive cognition including worry, obsessions, and insomnia-related intrusions (Schmidt, Gay, Ghisletta, & Van Der Linden, 2010; Schmidt, Gay, & Van Der Linden, 2008; Gay, Schmidt, & Van Der Linden, 2011; Cougle, Timpano, & Goetz, 2012). NU has been positively associated with worry and GAD symptom severity in multiple student samples (Gay, Schmidt, & Van der Linden, 2011; Pawluk & Koerner, 2013), although NU was not associated with probable GAD status after the inclusion of covariates (Pawluk & Koerner, 2013), suggesting that NU may contribute less to worry than other vulnerabilities.…”

“…NU has also demonstrated associations with obsessions across multiple student samples (Cougle, Timpano, & Goetz, 2012; Gay et al, 2011), and has been negatively related to performance on tasks assessing prepotent response inhibition (Gay, Rochat, Billieux, d’Acremont, & Van der Linden, 2008; Philippe et al, 2010), an ability that appears to be particularly associated with repugnant obsessions (Gillan et al, 2014; Lee et al, 2009; Morein-Zamir, Fineberg, Robbins, & Sahakian, 2010). Neural areas associated with NU (e.g., OFC; Cyders et al, 2014) have also been implicated in OCD (Chamberlain et al, 2008) and obsessions specifically (Rubia et al, 2010).…”