Psychometric properties of the short UPPS-P scale in adolescents: Gender, age invariance, and validity among Italian youth

Impulsivity is a multifaceted construct associated with poor planning skills, difficulty in maintaining attention, and behavioral disinhibition—especially in conditions of highly activated affective states. Impulsivity plays a prominent role in adolescents, in whom high levels of impulsivity expose them to a greater risk of exhibiting risky behaviors or developing pathological conditions. Currently, one of the most popular frameworks to explain and assess impulsivity is the UPPS-P, which distinguishes between five impulsivity components, and from which the UPPS-P Scale and its short form are derived. In light of the relatively low number of psychometric analyses of the scale in adolescents, this study aimed to verify the psychometric properties of the Short UPPS-P Scale among Italian adolescents. The participants were 647 adolescents (68% males, mean age = 16.9, SD = 1.1 years). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the five-factor model of the scale, which was found to be invariant across gender and age and to have had good internal consistency values. Gender and age differences were also investigated. Evidence for validity was provided by supporting relationships between specific UPPS dimensions, gambling frequency, problem gambling, and problematic use of social networks. Overall, the findings showed that the Short UPPS-P Scale is a promising instrument to assess the multidimensional construct of impulsivity in adolescents in both research and clinical practice.