Multidimensional assessments of impulsivity in subjects with history of suicidal attempts.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to examine whether subjects with history of suicidal attempts had higher impulsivity as measured by neurocognitive tests and self-report questionnaires. The interrelationships among different impulsivity measures were also explored.


METHODS
Fifty-four nonpsychotic psychiatric inpatients, including 24 subjects with previous history of suicidal attempts and 30 comparison subjects without previous suicidal attempts, completed the self-report Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11-Chinese version (BIS-11-CH) and 2 neuropsychologic tests of impulsivity: the immediate memory task/delayed memory task (IMT/DMT) and the single key impulsivity paradigm (SKIP).


RESULTS
The results indicated that subjects with previous suicidal attempts exhibited higher BIS-11-CH factor 2 (lack of self-control/attentional impulsivity) subscore (P = .02) and more commission errors in IMT (P = .03). However, BIS-11-CH scores and performance indices of IMT/DMT and of SKIP did not correlate with each other.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings supported that subjects with previous suicidal attempts had higher impulsivity, which could be revealed by both self-report and neurocognitive measures. However, there is no correlation among self-report, IMT/DMT, and SKIP measures, indicating that they might be measuring different dimensions of impulsivity.
Wu
Chi-Shin
CS
Department of Psychiatry, Far East Memory Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Liao
Shih-Cheng
SC
Lin
Keh-Ming
KM
Tseng
Meg Mei-Chih
MM
Wu
Erin Chia-Hsuan
EC
Liu
Shi-Kai
SK
D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs