The relationship between impulsivity and methamphetamine use severity in a community sample

Abstract

Background: Abuse of psychostimulants, including methamphetamine (MA), has been linked to heightened impulsivity. While previous research has demonstrated differences in impulsivity between MA users and non-substance users, less is known about variability in impulsivity within MA users and whether the severity of MA use related problems predicts impulsivity within individuals who regularly use MA. This study aims to elucidate the relationship between impulsivity and MA use severity.

Method: Non-treatment seeking individuals who reported regular MA use (n = 177) completed an impulsivity battery comprising self-report and behavioral measures. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to test the relationship between the MA use related problem severity and measures of impulsivity.

Results: The final SEM model of impulsivity and MA use related problems (CFI = 0.897, RMSEA = 0.059, S-B scaled χ² [260,n = 103] = 406.86) revealed that greater MA use severity was associated with greater self-reported impulsiveness, but no relationship was found between MA use severity and behavioral measures of impulsivity.

Conclusions: The current findings extend previous research by providing additional evidence that MA use is associated with increased self-reported impulsivity and highlights the importance of evaluating impulsivity as a multidimensional construct.

Keywords: Impulsivity; Methamphetamine (MA) use.