"Why can't I stop?" Testing a two-factor theory of impulsivity and its application to substance misuse

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Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Dawe, Sharon
Other Supervisors
Davis, Penny
Jackson, Chris
Year published
2009
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The misuse of alcohol and illicit substances remains a significant public health concern throughout the world. Recent advances in the understanding of biobehavioural processes involved in substance misuse hold great promise for enhancing prevention and treatment efforts. Specifically, there is converging evidence from the fields of personality and addiction neuroscience suggesting impulsive behaviour, and substance abuse specifically, is related to individual differences in the functioning of two neuropsychological systems. The first system is involved in the sensitivity to, and drive to obtain, rewarding stimuli (manifested ...
View more >The misuse of alcohol and illicit substances remains a significant public health concern throughout the world. Recent advances in the understanding of biobehavioural processes involved in substance misuse hold great promise for enhancing prevention and treatment efforts. Specifically, there is converging evidence from the fields of personality and addiction neuroscience suggesting impulsive behaviour, and substance abuse specifically, is related to individual differences in the functioning of two neuropsychological systems. The first system is involved in the sensitivity to, and drive to obtain, rewarding stimuli (manifested as trait Reward Drive). The second system is related to the modulation or inhibition of approach to reward within the context of potential punishment (manifested as trait Rash Impulsiveness). Three studies were conducted in order to investigate the utility of a two-dimensional approach to impulsivity and substance misuse, and the specific mechanisms through which each dimension might convey risk...
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View more >The misuse of alcohol and illicit substances remains a significant public health concern throughout the world. Recent advances in the understanding of biobehavioural processes involved in substance misuse hold great promise for enhancing prevention and treatment efforts. Specifically, there is converging evidence from the fields of personality and addiction neuroscience suggesting impulsive behaviour, and substance abuse specifically, is related to individual differences in the functioning of two neuropsychological systems. The first system is involved in the sensitivity to, and drive to obtain, rewarding stimuli (manifested as trait Reward Drive). The second system is related to the modulation or inhibition of approach to reward within the context of potential punishment (manifested as trait Rash Impulsiveness). Three studies were conducted in order to investigate the utility of a two-dimensional approach to impulsivity and substance misuse, and the specific mechanisms through which each dimension might convey risk...
View less >
Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Griffith Health
Copyright Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
Item Access Status
Public
Subject
impulsivity
substance abuse
substrance misuse
alcohol misuse
alcohol abuse
drug misuse
drug abuse
substance misuse treatment
neuropsychological systems