scholarly journals Economic and social deprivation predicts impulsive choice in young children.

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Tunney
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Individual Difference ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Social Deprivation ◽  
Impulsive Choice ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Environmental Component ◽  
Deprived Areas

Impulsivity is an individual difference in decision-making that is a risk factor for a number of health concerns including addiction and obesity. Although impulsivity has a large heritable component it, the health concerns associated with impulsivity are not uniformly distributed across society. For example, people from poorer backgrounds are more likely to be overweight, and be dependent on tobacco or alcohol. This suggests that the environmental component of impulsivity night be related to economic circumstances and availability of resources. This paper provides evidence that children aged 4 to 12 from the most deprived areas show greater impulsivity in the form of delay discounting than do children from the least deprived areas. The data are discussed with reference to scarcity based models of decision-making and to public health inequalities.

scholarly journals Diminished Cortical Thickness is Associated with Impulsive Choice in Adolescence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marieta Pehlivanova ◽  
Daniel H. Wolf ◽  
Aristeidis Sotiras ◽  
Antonia Kaczkurkin ◽  
Tyler M. Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Additive Models ◽  
Impulsive Choice ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Structural Brain

ABSTRACTAdolescence is characterized by both maturation of brain structure and increased risk of negative outcomes from behaviors associated with impulsive decision-making. One important index of impulsive choice is delay discounting (DD), which measures the tendency to prefer smaller rewards available soon over larger rewards delivered after a delay. However, it remains largely unknown how individual differences in structural brain development may be associated with impulsive choice during adolescence. Leveraging a unique large sample of 427 human youths (208 males and 219 females) imaged as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, we examined associations between delay discounting and cortical thickness within structural covariance networks. These structural networks were derived using non-negative matrix factorization, an advanced multivariate technique for dimensionality reduction, and analyzed using generalized additive models with penalized splines to capture both linear and nonlinear developmental effects. We found that impulsive choice, as measured by greater discounting, was most strongly associated with diminished cortical thickness in structural brain networks that encompassed the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, temporal pole, and temporoparietal junction. Furthermore, structural brain networks predicted DD above and beyond cognitive performance. Taken together, these results suggest that reduced cortical thickness in regions known to be involved in value-based decision-making is a marker of impulsive choice during the critical period of adolescence.SIGNIFICANCERisky behaviors during adolescence, such as initiation of substance use or reckless driving, are a major source of morbidity and mortality. In this study, we present evidence from a large sample of youths that diminished cortical thickness in specific structural brain networks is associated with impulsive choice. Notably, the strongest association between impulsive choice and brain structure was seen in regions implicated in value-based decision-making; namely, the ventromedial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices. Moving forward, such neuroanatomical markers of impulsivity may aid in the development of personalized interventions targeted to reduce risk of negative outcomes resulting from impulsivity during adolescence.

scholarly journals Acute alcohol effects on impulsive choice in adolescents

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-325
Author(s):  
Nadine Bernhardt ◽  
Elisabeth Obst ◽  
Stephan Nebe ◽  
Shakoor Pooseh ◽  
Friedrich M Wurst ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Family History ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Loss Aversion ◽  
Alcohol Problems ◽  
Impulsive Choice ◽  
Alcohol Administration ◽  
Alcohol Condition ◽  
Alcohol Effects

Background: Neurodevelopmental and alcohol-induced changes in decision-making have been proposed to critically influence impulsive behaviour in adolescents. Objective: This study tested the influence of acute alcohol administration on impulsive choice in adolescents. Methods: Fifty-four males aged 18–19 years were tested in a single-blind placebo-controlled cross-over design. During alcohol administration (infusion resulting in an arterial blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg%) and placebo condition (saline infusion), participants performed a task battery providing estimates of delay discounting, probability discounting for gains, for losses and loss aversion, and also rated subjectively experienced alcohol effects. Additionally, baseline alcohol consumption (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, blood phosphatidylethanol levels), motives (Drinking Motive Questionnaire, Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire and Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale), family history and self-report measures of impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Substance Use Risk Profile Scale) were provided. Results: No overall effects of treatment on choice behaviour were found. However, individual differences were observed. In the alcohol condition, more impulsive choice tendencies for delay discounting were associated with higher subjectively experienced alcohol effects. Further, higher risk aversion for probabilistic gains and higher loss aversion during alcohol condition were related to higher levels of real-life alcohol consumption and a family history of alcohol problems, respectively. Finally, the time to make a decision was substantially shortened for choices involving negative prospects. Conclusions: Contrary to common beliefs, acute alcohol intoxication did not generally incite impulsive decision-making. It rather appears that alcohol-induced behavioural changes in adolescents vary considerably depending on prior experiences and subjective effects of alcohol.

Personality and Other Individual Influences on Offending

2018 ◽  
pp. 354-377
Author(s):  
Darrick Jolliffe ◽  
David P. Farrington
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Individual Difference ◽  
Potential Risk ◽  
Explanatory Variable ◽  
Decision Making Factors ◽  
Potential Risk Factors ◽  
Cognitive Decision

This chapter summarizes the knowledge about the key individual difference factors that have been proposed to underlie criminal potential. It discusses temperament and personality, explores the relation between impulsivity and offending, and investigates low intelligence and offending. The chapter then examines the evidence for low empathy and cognitive (decision-making) factors. In isolation, these (or any other) individual differences cannot fully explain the development of offending, but the strength of the evidence suggests that any complete theory would need to take into account at least some of these factors, as all are potential “risk factors” for later offending. While there are different ways of conceptualizing a risk factor, generally they refer to an extreme category of an explanatory variable.

Impulsive choice predicts short-term relapse in substance-dependent individuals attending an in-patient detoxification programme

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 2083-2093 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Stevens ◽  
A. E. Goudriaan ◽  
A. Verdejo-Garcia ◽  
G. Dom ◽  
H. Roeyers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Iowa Gambling Task ◽  
Treatment Retention ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Stop Signal Task ◽  
Impulsive Choice ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Substance Dependent

BackgroundImpulsivity is a hallmark characteristic of substance use disorders. Recently, studies have begun to explore whether increased impulsivity in substance-dependent individuals (SDIs) is associated with a greater propensity to relapse following treatment. Despite growing recognition of its multidimensional nature, however, most studies have treated impulsivity unilaterally. Accordingly, it remains unclear whether certain facets of impulsivity are more relevant to relapse than others. The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between multiple facets of impulsivity and short-term relapse in SDIs. As a secondary aim, we explored the role of treatment retention in this relationship.MethodA personality-based impulsivity questionnaire (UPPS) and three neurocognitive tasks of impulsivity [stop-signal task (SST), delay discounting task (DDT) and Iowa gambling task (IGT)] were administered in a heterogeneous sample of 70 SDIs shortly following their entry in an in-patient detoxification programme. Mediation analyses were performed to explore whether the effects of impulsivity on relapse were mediated by treatment retention.ResultsPerformance on two neurocognitive indices of impulsive choice (i.e. delay discounting and impulsive decision-making) significantly predicted short-term relapse. The effects of delay discounting and impulsive decision-making on relapse propensity were mediated by treatment retention.ConclusionsNeurocognitive indices of impulsivity may be more sensitive to the prediction of relapse than trait-based self-report questionnaires. Post-treatment relapse in SDIs may be reduced by targeting the processes involved in impulsive choice and by improving treatment retention in SDIs with inflated impulsivity.

scholarly journals Contamination of food with newspaper ink: An evidence-informed decision making (EIDM) case study of homemade dessert

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (02) ◽  
pp. 63-69
Author(s):  
Richard X. Zhou ◽  
Ralph Stanley ◽  
Maria Le
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Informed Decision ◽  
Food Preparation ◽  
Informed Decision Making ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Home Food ◽  
Home Food Preparation

In this evidence-informed decision making case study report, the authors discuss three public health concerns: (1) home food preparation businesses, (2) right of entry into a private residence, and (3) food contamination by newspaper ink including chronic health effects related to other trace toxins exposure. Home food preparation businesses have proliferated throughout Ontario following the prevalence of Internet access. Private residences are increasingly used for the preparation of food for public consumption, offering a full array of products, and extending in scope to encompass a broad range of commercial catering businesses. The major concerns for Public Health are a lack of food safety knowledge and inadequate facilities to protect food from contamination and adulteration at these home-based businesses. Legal restrictions limit Public Health Inspectors’ access to a private residence, regardless of the known or anticipated health concerns. In this particular case, food was prepared in the garage of a single-family home and then delivered by truck to commercial units in a strip plaza for further processing. In this case, chemical contamination of food from the use of recycled newspaper to drain excess cooking oil from fried donuts raised serious health concerns. Researchers report that newspaper ink contains ingredients such as Naphthylamine, amoratic hydrocarbons, and other aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists that have multiple negative health effects.

scholarly journals Reward-Related Decision-Making in Current and Past Disordered Gambling: Implications for Impulsive Choice and Risk Preference in the Maintenance of Gambling Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalen G. Schluter ◽  
David C. Hodgins
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Substance Use Disorder ◽  
Gambling Disorder ◽  
Risky Choice ◽  
Impulsive Choice ◽  
Trait Impulsivity ◽  
History Of

Impulsive reward-related decision-making (RRDM) is robustly associated with gambling disorder (GD), although its role in the development and perpetuation of GD is still being investigated. This project sought to examine the possible roles of impulsive and risky choice, two aspects of RRDM, in the perpetuation of GD. Additionally, the potential moderating role of comorbid substance misuse was considered. A total of 434 participants with symptoms of current GD and symptoms of concurrent substance use disorder (SUD; n = 105), current GD with past SUD (n = 98), past GD with current SUD (n = 53), or past GD with past substance use disorder (SUD; n = 92), and 96 healthy controls were recruited through MTurk. Participants completed a randomly adjusting delay discounting (a measure of impulsive choice) and probabilistic discounting (a measure of risky choice) task and self-report questionnaires of gambling participation, GD and SUD symptomology, and trait impulsivity. Although control participants showed significantly greater delay discounting compared to individuals with a current or history of GD, no significant group differences emerged between individuals with current GD or a history of GD. Individuals with current GD showed significantly less probabilistic discounting compared to individuals with a history of GD and control participants showed the greatest rates of probabilistic discounting. These effects remained after controlling for lifetime gambling symptom severity and trait impulsivity. Overall, these findings suggest a potential maintaining role of risky choice in gambling disorder, but do not support a maintaining role for impulsive choice.

Cognitive Reflection Effects on Time Discounting

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Białek ◽  
Przemysław Sawicki
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Individual Difference ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Process Information ◽  
Time Discounting ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
The Way

Abstract. In this work, we investigated individual differences in cognitive reflection effects on delay discounting – a preference for smaller sooner over larger later payoff. People are claimed to prefer more these alternatives they considered first – so-called reference point – over the alternatives they considered later. Cognitive reflection affects the way individuals process information, with less reflective individuals relying predominantly on the first information they consider, thus, being more susceptible to reference points as compared to more reflective individuals. In Experiment 1, we confirmed that individuals who scored high on the Cognitive Reflection Test discount less strongly than less reflective individuals, but we also show that such individuals are less susceptible to imposed reference points. Experiment 2 replicated these findings additionally providing evidence that cognitive reflection predicts discounting strength and (in)dependency to reference points over and above individual difference in numeracy.

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