FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE BARRATT IMPULSIVENESS SCALE

The purpose of the present study was to revise the Barratt Impulsivene ss Scale Version 10 (BIS-10), identify the factor structure of the ite ms among normals, and compare their scores on the revised form (BIS-11 ) with psychiatric inpatients and prison inmates. The scale was admini stered to 412 college undergraduates, 248 psychiatric inpatients, and 73 male prison inmates. Exploratory principal components analysis of t he items identified six primary factors and three second-order factors . The three second-order factors were labeled Attentional Impulsivenes s, Motor Impulsiveness, and Nonplanning Impulsiveness. Two of the thre e second-order factors identified in the BIS-11 were consistent with t hose proposed by Barratt (1985), but no cognitive impulsiveness compon ent was identified per se. The results of the present study suggest th at the total score of the BIS-11 is an internally consistent measure o f impulsiveness and has potential clinical utility for measuring impul siveness among selected patient and inmate populations.