Assessment Instruments for Impulsivity and Impulse Control Disorders

This chapter provides a review of measures used to assess the impulse control disorders (ICDs) included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., DSM-IV) and those proposed for DSM-V, as well as measures used to assess the related psychological construct of impulsivity implicated in the development and maintenance of ICDs. We first present instruments used to assess ICDs including diagnostic interviews, as well as self-report and clinician-rated measures of symptom severity. Second, we present self-report and behavioral measures of impulsivity. The review includes theoretical rationales, procedural details, and empirical evidence, including detailed psychometric data for each measure to provide a comprehensive guide to the assessment of ICDs and the construct of impulsivity.