correlates (Whiteside et al. 2005; Anestis et al. 2007; Billieux et al. 2007; Cyders et al. 2007; Cyders & Smith 2007, 2008; Smith et al. 2007; Fried, Cyders & Smith 2008; Gay et al. 2008). With respect to alcohol use, the urgency traits predict problem drinking, whereas sensation seeking predicts the frequency of drinking (Smith et al. 2007; Fischer & Smith 2008; Cyders et al. 2009). Sixth, distinguishing among the different processes leads to more homogeneous measures of personality risk for impulsive action. When a single score is used to represent multiple processes that correlate only modestly with each other, the meaning of individual differences in such scores is unclear; the result is theoretical imprecision and scientific uncertainty (Smith & Combs in press). Also, the assessment of homogeneous dimensions of personality risk is essential for the effort to identify specific gene polymorphisms of relevance to that risk (Smith, McCarthy & Zapolski 2009).
