The Relationship between Risk Taking, Impulsivity and Intolerance of Uncertainty

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Risk taking has been implicated in the development of various psychiatric disorders. Previous studies have indicated that risk taking behavior is associated with high levels of impulsiveness. Risk taking entail uncertain situation that outcome probability is unknown. This study tested impulsivity, intolerance of uncertainty and risk taking behavior. METHODS: A total of 73 participants completed a test battery comprised of the UPPS-P scale as a psychometric measurement of five dimensions of impulsivity, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, and Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) as a behavioral measure of risk taking. The Pearson correlation analysis was used. RESULTS: The sensation seeking factor was positively correlated with BART measure (r = 0.27, p = 0.02). Specifically, the relationship between sensation seeking and BART was significant in females. CONCLUSIONS: Among the five factors of UPPS-P, only the sensation seeking factor predicts risk taking propensity.