There is now considerable evidence that measures of traits labeled “impulsivity” either combine separate constructs, or refer to different constructs altogether [21, 22]. The same is true of measures labeled “disinhibition.” The theoretical and empirical parsing of measures labeled in these ways has identified five, separate dispositions to engage in rash action; these dispositions describe different apparent pathways to risk. Two involve low conscientiousness: lack of planning (the tendency to act without thinking ahead) and lack of perseverance (the inability to remain focused on a task). Two are emotion-based dispositions: negative urgency (the tendency to act rashly when distressed) and positive urgency (the tendency to act rashly when experiencing extremely positive affect), and the fifth is sensation seeking (the tendency to seek out novel and thrilling experiences). Each of the five traits has substantial reliable variance independent of the other four traits, and they do not appear to be components of an overall impulsivity construct [20, 21].
