Associations of functional and dysfunctional impulsivity to smoking characteristics

Although the relation between impulsivity and smoking is well-documented, one model of impulsivity that has received little attention in the addiction literature separates impulsivity into 2 dimensions: functional impulsivity (tendency to make quick effective decisions) and dysfunctional impulsivity (tendency to make quick ineffective decisions).

This cross-sectional study examined relations of functional and dysfunctional impulsivity to smoking characteristics in 212 non-treatment-seeking daily smokers (M = 15 cigarettes per day, M age = 24 years, 53% women).

Dysfunctional impulsivity exhibited small- to medium-sized positive associations with difficulty refraining from smoking in forbidden places, craving, and smoking without awareness. Functional impulsivity was inversely associated with a measure of cigarette craving. Other suggestive associations were found; however, these were not statistically significant after type I error correction.

Although the overall predictive validity of these impulsivity constructs for explaining variance in smoking characteristics was relatively modest, the results suggest that conceptualizing impulsivity as a unitary construct indicative of a tendency to make quick decisions may mask heterogeneity within the impulsivity-smoking relationship. These findings suggest that high-dysfunctional impulsivity smokers may perhaps require more intensive interventions to dampen motivation to smoke. They also highlight the possibility that certain manifestations of impulsivity are not related with increased smoking behavior and may actually associate with reduced drive to smoke.