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. 2017 Jul 6;17(1):244.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-017-1407-y.

Validation of the short Arabic UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale

Ghada Bteich  1 , Djamal Berbiche  2 , Yasser Khazaal  3   4   5
Affiliations

Validation of the short Arabic UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale

Ghada Bteich et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Impulsivity is involved in numerous psychiatric and addictive disorders, as well as in risky behaviors. The UPPS-P scale highlights five complementary impulsivity constructs (i.e., positive urgency, negative urgency, lack of perseverance, lack of premeditation, and sensation seeking) that possibly work as different pathways linking impulsivity to other disorders. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Arab language short 20-item UPPS-P scale and to eventually validate it.

Methods: Participants were recruited online through e-mail invitations. After online informed consent was obtained, the questionnaires (the UPPS-P and the Compulsive Internet Use Scale [CIUS]) were completed anonymously. The five dimensions of the Arab UPPS-P model were assessed in a sample of 743 participants.

Results: As in other linguistic assessments of the UPPS-P, confirmatory factor analysis showed the validity of a model with five different, but nonetheless interrelated, facets of impulsivity. A three-factor model with two higher order factors-urgency (negative and positive) and lack of conscientiousness (lack of premeditation and lack of perseverance)-and a third sensation seeking factor fit the data well, but to a lesser extent. The results suggested good internal consistency, with external validity shown from correlations between some of the UPPS-P components and a measure of addictive Internet use (the CIUS).

Conclusion: The Arab short UPPS-P is a valid assessment tool with good psychometric properties and is suitable for online use.

Keywords: CIUS; Impulsivity; Internet addiction; UPPS; Validation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The local institutional review board of the Lebanese University approved the study. Before the participants completed the survey, a form was provided explaining the purpose of the study and assuring them that data collection, storage, and reporting techniques would protect confidentiality and anonymity. Participants gave online informed consent and the questionnaires were completed anonymously.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The five-factor model is presented. Error variance and factor loadings are shown with one-way arrows. Correlations between variables (taking into account covariance between items) are shown via two-way arrows. NEGATIVE = negative urgency; POSITIVE = positive urgency; PREMED = lack of premeditation; PERSEV = lack of perseverance; SEEKING = sensation seeking
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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