Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 12;18(2):613. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18020613.
Although the construct of impulsivity has generally been found to be associated with obesity and health behaviors in adults, research among adolescents is more limited and studies have yet to elucidate which facets of impulsivity may be most salient with regard to different eating and physical activity behaviors. Therefore, the present cross-sectional study assessed facets of impulsivity, measured by the UPPS-P questionnaire, in relation to health behaviors among adolescents. A sample of 2797 high school students from Los Angeles, California completed self-report measures during the ninth grade. The UPPS-P subscales (i.e., (lack of) premeditation, sensation seeking, (lack of) perseverance, negative urgency, positive urgency) were examined as predictors of unhealthy diet quality (i.e., frequency of consumption of high-fat foods and sweet food and drinks, measured by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Quick Food Scan) and frequency of vigorous physical activity (measured by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System). Greater sensation seeking, positive urgency, and negative urgency was associated with greater unhealthy diet quality (s < 0.001). Greater negative urgency and lack of perseverance was associated with less frequent vigorous physical activity, whereas greater sensation seeking, lack of premeditation, and positive urgency was associated with more frequent vigorous physical activity (s < 0.05). While negative urgency (i.e., impulsivity in the context of negative emotions) was consistently associated with poor health behaviors, other facets of impulsivity may potentiate vigorous physical activity in youth. Together these findings underscore the importance of considering the multidimensional nature of impulsivity in relation to adolescents' health behaviors and highlight areas for future longitudinal research.
尽管冲动性结构通常与成年人的肥胖和健康行为有关，但青少年的研究更为有限，而且研究尚未阐明哪些冲动性特征与不同的饮食和体育活动行为最为相关。因此，本横断面研究评估了由 UPPS-P 问卷测量的冲动性特征与青少年健康行为的关系。加利福尼亚州洛杉矶的 2797 名高中生在九年级期间完成了自我报告的测量。UPPS-P 分量表（即缺乏预先计划、寻求刺激、缺乏毅力、负性冲动、正性冲动）被视为不健康饮食质量（即通过国家癌症研究所（NCI）快速食物扫描测量的高脂肪食物和甜食的消费频率）和剧烈身体活动频率（通过青年风险行为监测系统测量）的预测因子。更大的寻求刺激、正性冲动和负性冲动与更差的饮食质量相关（s < 0.001）。更大的负性冲动和缺乏毅力与更不频繁的剧烈身体活动相关，而更大的寻求刺激、缺乏预先计划和正性冲动与更频繁的剧烈身体活动相关（s < 0.05）。虽然负性冲动（即在负面情绪背景下的冲动）与不良健康行为始终相关，但冲动的其他特征可能会促进青少年的剧烈身体活动。这些发现共同强调了在考虑青少年健康行为时考虑冲动性的多维性质的重要性，并突出了未来纵向研究的重点。
