Tremblay, Pihl, Vitaro, & Dobkin, 1994). Though these studies clearly implicate a common element of pathology of these childhood disorders and associated personality characteristics, their utility is limited by the absence of explicit hypotheses about the nature of this comorbidity. The current study is founded on the idea that what links these behavioral patterns together is an underlying deficit in the ability to inhibit impulses to act in ways that are attractive because of possible reward but are socially inappropriate and may result in negative consequences. This hypothesized deficit is behavioral disinhibition.
