Klein,
Benjamin (5/10) An examination of affect regulation, impulsivity and risk
taking (Nicholas Papouchis, Ph.D.; Howard Mcguire, Ph.D.; Lisa Samstag, Ph.D.)
This study explored the relationship
between affect regulation, risk-taking, and impulsivity, and hypothesized that
risk-taking and impulsivity would be negatively associated with an individual's
ability to regulate affect. The relationship was explored by comparing affect
regulation to risk and was measured in several different ways, including a
behavioral task and several self-report measures. Participants included 60
students at a large metropolitan university (31 males and 29 females, aged 18
to 27 years). Each participant completed self-report questionnaires including
the Sensation Seeking Scale -Form V (SSS-V), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale -
11 (BIS-11), and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in
addition to a computerized risk- taking task, the Balloon Analogue Risk Task
(BART). To assess each participant's ability to regulate his or her affect, the
Adult Attachment Interview was administered and scored using the rubric for the
Reflective Functioning scale. The constellation self-report questionnaires
measuring risk-taking (BIS-11, SSS-V, and AUDIT) were positively correlated.
However, the behavioral task of risk-taking (BART) did not correlate
significantly with any of the other risk-taking measures. Affect regulation did
not correlate significantly with any of the risk-taking measures as was
hypothesized. In this sample, women exhibited significantly higher RF scores,
exhibiting a greater capacity to regulate their affect.
