To act or not to act? Mechanisms and manifestations of negative urgency across the lifespan

Negative urgency is a personality trait characterized by rash responses to negative emotion. This trait is a significant risk factor for the development and maintenance of psychopathology and extreme risk behavior. Given negative urgency’s importance for individual well-being, it is necessary to develop a deeper understanding of the mechanisms and manifestations of this trait. This dissertation considers the breadth and depth of negative urgency across a wide range of problems and behaviors to develop a clearer sense of its impact and the ways it may be addressed. The first chapter employs a cross-lagged panel model in a sample of youth to understand and untangle associations between negative urgency and rumination. The results are in line with Emotional Cascade Theory, such that rumination predicts negative urgency over time. Implications of this finding for behavior and well-being are discussed. The second chapter utilizes a structural equation modeling approach to examine negative urgency’s impact on internalizing problems in adults. The analyses in chapter 2 bolster existing work on negative urgency and internalizing problems by demonstrating that negative urgency predicts depressive symptoms over time and add to research in this area by highlighting ill-advised inaction—or failing to act when doing so is in one’s best interest—as one mechanism which facilitates associations between negative urgency and internalizing problems. Lastly, the third chapter explores negative urgency’s impact on everyday life. Using a mixed-methods approach, this chapter describes the development and validation of the Everyday Urgency Scale, which measures urgent behavior on a more mundane, everyday level, utilizing samples of emerging adults and adults. While existing research on negative urgency focuses on its association with extreme risk behavior and psychopathology, it is important to acknowledge that this trait exists at varying levels in all people and likely manifests in equally varied behavior. Implications and utility of the scale are considered in terms of understanding and intervening on negative urgency. Across these three studies, I discuss implications for understanding the development of maladaptive behavior and improving well-being among negatively urgent individuals.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D., Human Development

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctor of Philosophy

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Development

Grantor

Cornell University

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Porcelli, Sabrina

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Ong, Anthony
• Burrow, Anthony
• Loeckenhoff, Corinna

• adolescents
• depressive symptoms
• emotion regulation
• impulsivity
• negative urgency
• rumination

Statement dc:rights

• Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7298/kz5z-wr96

Dc Identifier Other

ProQuest Submission ID: 13635
ProQuest Publication ID: 30485512

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ecommons.cornell.edu:1813/114117