We believe that this theoretical effort is important for several reasons. First, it offers a specific means by which emotionality relates to risky behaviors. A number of researchers have very fruitfully distinguished between internalizing and externalizing disorders (Krueger & Markon, 2006), yet the correlation between the internalizing and externalizing dimensions is quite strong. Identification of the urgency traits enables a direct assessment of an emotion-based disposition to rash action. To the degree that rash action leads to problem levels of involvement in risky behaviors, recognition of the urgency traits may lead to better understanding of the correlation between the two dimensions.
