Parsing the heterogeneity of impulsivity: A meta-analytic review of the behavioral implications of the UPPS for psychopathology

The construct of impulsivity is implicated in a wide variety of psychopathology. However, the heterogeneous factors or subcomponents that differentially predict outcomes are still in the process of being parsed. The present review and meta-analysis focuses on the psychopathological correlates of the Negative Urgency, (lack of) Premeditation, (lack of) perseverance, Sensation Seeking, and Positive Urgency (UPPS/UPPS-P; Whiteside & Lynam, 2001). which provides a relatively new model of impulsivity that posits 5 potentially overlapping pathways to impulsive action. The present meta-analysis included 115 studies that used the UPPS, with a total of 40,432 participants. Findings suggested that the Negative Urgency pathway to impulsivity demonstrated the greatest correlational effect sizes across all forms of psychopathology, with the Positive Urgency pathway demonstrating a pattern of correlations similar to that of Negative Urgency. These findings raise questions regarding the conceptual and practical separability of these pathways. Lack of Premeditation and Lack of Perseverance also demonstrated similar correlational patterns, suggesting that further investigation of the distinctiveness of these pathways is warranted.