Impulsivity: a multidimensional concept with developmental aspects

Fifty-five preschool children were administered a number of tests purported to measure impulsivity: Delay of Gratification, Walk-the-Line-Slowly, Matching Familiar Figures Test, Schenectady Kindergarten Rating Scales, a teacher rating scale, and the Porteus Maze Test. Analyses indicated that impulsivity is multidimensional, with age-, sex-, IQ-, and teacher-related types. The results suggested that multiple indices are essential to the measurement and study of impulsivity. An interaction between sex and age of child was also revealed with respect to type and rate of activity. While 3- and 4-year-old girls differ radically from boys in type and rate of motor activity (fine muscle vs. gross muscle), 5-year-olds were virtually identical.