Although positive urgency is a more recently defined trait, it has shown its own unique predictive relationships as well. Positive urgency prospectively predicts increases in drinking quantity and problems associated with drinking during the first year of college (Cyders et al., 2007b), whereas sensation seeking predicts only increases in drinking frequency. Positive urgency prospectively predicts increases in pathological gambling behaviors (Cyders & Smith, in press) and can differentiate those at risk of pathological gambling from those not at risk (Cyders et al., 2007a). Positive urgency also prospectively predicts risky sexual behavior and illegal drug use during the first year of college (Zapolski, Cyders, Rainer, & Smith, 2007). In each of these studies, positive urgency predicted above and beyond negative urgency, lack of planning, lack of perseverance, and sensation seeking.
