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

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Rue des Battoirs 7, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland

    Philippe Gay, Ralph E. Schmidt & Martial Van der Linden

  2. Cognitive Psychopathology and Neuropsychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 40, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland

    Philippe Gay, Ralph E. Schmidt & Martial Van der Linden

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  1. Philippe Gay
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  2. Ralph E. Schmidt
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Correspondence to Philippe Gay.

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Gay, P., Schmidt, R.E. & Van der Linden, M. Impulsivity and Intrusive Thoughts: Related Manifestations of Self-Control Difficulties?. Cogn Ther Res 35, 293–303 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-010-9317-z

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