Specific Dimensions of Impulsivity Are Differentially Associated with Daily and Non-Daily Cigarette Smoking in Young Adults

Abstract

Young adults are at risk for initiation of tobacco use and progression to tobacco dependence. Not every person who smokes cigarettes becomes tobacco dependent, however, and non-daily smoking is becoming more prevalent among those who use tobacco. It is likely that individual differences in psychosocial and behavioral factors influence risk for engaging in non-daily and daily cigarette smoking. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between impulsivity and smoking status in young adults who vary in frequency of cigarette smoking. Young adult first-year college students between the ages of 18-24 (512) were classified to one of three groups: non-smokers, non-daily smokers, or daily smokers, and impulsivity was assessed using the UPPS-P (negative and positive urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, sensation seeking). When all impulsivity dimensions were used simultaneously to predict smoking status, negative urgency predicted increased risk of membership in the daily smoking group and lack of premeditation predicted increased risk of membership in the non-daily smoking group. These results suggest that dimensions of impulsivity may contribute differentially to forms of smoking behavior in young adults.