Is emotional impulsiveness (Urgency) a core feature of severe personality disorder?

Howard, Richard; Khalifa, Najat

Abstract

Recent literature has focused on severity of personality disorder (PD) and a trait-based assessment of PDs in preference to assessment by specific sets of diagnostic criteria. Evidence suggests that emotional impulsiveness, also known as Urgency (Whiteside, & Lynam (2001). The five factor model and impulsivity: Using a structural model of personality to understand impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences (30, 669–689), might contribute to a broad spectrum of PDs and to overall PD severity. In a sample of 100 forensic psychiatric patients, all men with confirmed PD and a history of serious offending, two hypotheses were tested: first that high Urgency scores would be associated with a broad spectrum of PDs, and with PD severity; and second, that in regression analysis Urgency would uniquely predict measures of PD severity. Results confirmed these hypotheses and are consistent with the idea that emotional impulsiveness/Urgency contributes importantly to overall severity of PD, and in so doing may explain, at least in part, the well-documented link between PD and violence.

Citation

Howard, R., & Khalifa, N. (in press). Is emotional impulsiveness (Urgency) a core feature of severe personality disorder?. Personality and Individual Differences, 92, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.12.017

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 10, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Dec 17, 2015
• Deposit Date: Aug 26, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 26, 2016
• Journal: Personality and Individual Differences
• Print ISSN: 0191-8869
• Electronic ISSN: 0191-8869
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 92
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.12.017
• Keywords: Impulsiveness, Impulsivity, Urgency, Personality Disorder, Violence
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/769098
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886915300982