IMPULSIVENESS AND IMPULSE CONTROL DISORDE R - A PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION

Impulsiveness and impaired impulse control are connected with an incre asing number of psychic disorders. While impulsiveness presents an end uring, pervasive predisposition of personality, the DSM-IV category of ''impulse control disorder not elsewhere classified'' is operationali zed by specific dysfunctional behaviors. So far, the construction of i mpulsiveness has really not been sufficiently clarified. What does it means and how can one describes it. Different means of conceptualizati on are presented from a psychological and psychopathological point of view. Their critical review leads to the hypothesis that impulsiveness subsumes a specific quality of drive, on the one hand, which is close ly related to a person's temperament and control mechanisms on the oth er. Drive and impulse control represent enduring traits that act on al l levels of personality function, including behavior, cognitive proces sing and affect regulation. Finally, a model of impulsiveness is sugge sted that reflects the close interactions among drive, affect and cogn ition in the regulation of behavior.