Author Note

G. Scott Acton, Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California, San Francisco.

Work on this article was supported in part by grants to G. Scott Acton from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (F32-DA14739) and the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (10FT-0248) and by grants to Sharon M. Hall from NIDA (P50-DA09253, R01-DA02538, and T32-DA07250) and the National Cancer Institute (R01-CA71378). I gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments of Jennifer Cullen, Kevin L. Delucchi, Amie L. Haas, Sharon M. Hall, Judith J. Prochaska, and Maren Westphal on earlier versions of the article.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to G. Scott Acton, Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California, San Francisco, Box 0984-TRC, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143-0984, acton@personalityresearch.org.

This article is copyright © 2002 G. Scott Acton and is an unedited version of an article that has been accepted for publication in Substance Use & Misuse. Please do not quote or otherwise take ideas from this article without proper citation--and please do not cite the on-line version. Citation of the printed version, when it is published, will be welcome.


Footnote

1. Such arousal in the cortico-reticular loop should not be confused with activation, or autonomic arousal in the visceral brain. Although these two systems typically act in relative independence, strong activation (fight-or-flight) will also bring about arousal (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985).


French Abstract

Cet article concerne les mesures d'un modele hierarchique majeur a trois dimensions de la personnalite et decrit comment ces mesures sont liees a l'ingestion de substances. H. J. Eysenck a propose une modelisation de la personnalite qui'il a basee sur la biologie. Cette modelisation a inspire celles de J. A. Gray, C. R. Cloninger, et M. Zuckerman. L'article inclut une description des roles variables de l'impulsivite, un trait de caractere lie a la desinhibition, approche de la motivation, recherche de nouveauté, recherche de sensation, au moyen de rapports successifs d'auto-evaluation de ce modele, incluant l'Inventaire de Personnalite de Eysenck (EPI) et le Questionnaire de Personnalite de Eysenck (EPQ). La these defendue ici est que certaines recherches de type experimental, coupe transversale et longitudinal faisant usage de ces mesures soulignent l'importance de l'impulsivite en tant que facteur rendant plus vulnerable a l'utilisation de substances.


Spanish Abstract

Esta reseña describe la forma en que las medidas de un prominente modelo tridimensional jerárquico de rasgos de personalidad se relaciona con el uso de sustancias. H. J. Eysenck propuso un modelo biológico de la personalidad que dio lugar al desarrollo de modelos relacionados, tales como el de J. A. Gray, C. R. Cloninger y M. Zuckerman. En este artículo se describe la variedad de roles de la impulsividad-un rasgo relacionado con la deshinbición, la motivación hacia cosas placenteras, la búsqueda de la novedad y las nuevas sensaciones-dentro de sucesivas mediciones de autoreporte de este modelo, incluídas las descripciones del Inventario de Personalidad de Eysenck (EPI) y del Cuestionario de Personalidad de Eysenck (EPQ). Se ha argumentado que ciertos descubrimientos en investigaciones experimentales, transversales y longitudinales en que se han utilizado estas medidas destacan la importancia de la impulsividad como un factor de la vulnerabilidad temperamental para el uso de sustancias.


Biographical Sketch

After receiving his Ph.D. in psychology from Northwestern University, G. Scott Acton moved to the University of California, San Francisco, where he has conducted research on smoking and depression. Dr. Acton is interested in the measurement of individual differences generally, including those in psychopathology and intelligence as well as in personality.


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