Aims: Negative and positive urgency are emotion-related
impulsivity traits that are
thought to be transdiagnostic factors in psychopathology. However, it has recently
been claimed that these two traits are closely related to each other and that considering
them separately might have limited conceptual and methodological value. The
present study aimed to examine whether positive and negative urgency constructs
constitute separate impulsivity traits.
Methods: In contrast to previous studies that have used latent variable approaches,
this study employed an item-based
network analysis conducted in two different samples:
a large sample of non-clinical
participants (N = 18,568) and a sample of clinical
participants with psychiatric disorders (N = 385).
Results: The network analysis demonstrated that items denoting both positive and
negative urgency cohere as a single cluster of items termed “general urgency” in both
clinical and non-clinical
samples, thereby suggesting that differentiating positive and
negative urgency as separate constructs is not necessary.
Conclusion: These findings have important implications for the conceptualization
and assessment of urgency and, more broadly, for future research on impulsivity,
personality, and psychopathology.