Are rash impulsive and reward sensitive traits distinguishable? A test in young adults

• Risk-related personality traits show extensive overlap in youth.
• Reward sensitive and rash impulsive traits are structurally distinguishable.
• Reward sensitive traits predict both adaptive and maladaptive behavior.
• Rash impulsive traits predict only maladaptive risk behavior.

Adolescents and young adults are characterized as prone to risky behavior with a wide range of traits identified as predictors of individual differences in this behavior. Here we test a crucial difference between traits that reflect rash impulsivity, the tendency to engage in risky behavior without consideration of consequences, versus reward sensitivity, the tendency to be attracted to novel and rewarding experience. To test the validity of this distinction, we examined the factorial structure of eight risk-related traits in a sample of 899 18 to 22 year-olds. We predicted that rash impulsive traits would be separable in structure from reward sensitive traits and would uniquely predict relatively maladaptive risk-taking (e.g., drug use). In addition, we predicted that reward sensitive traits would be related to both adaptive (e.g., entering competitions) and maladaptive risk behaviors. Results revealed a factorial structure that distinguished these traits, with rash impulsive and reward sensitive traits uniquely predictive of different forms of risk-taking. The results suggest that it is possible to distinguish traits that reflect these two forms of risk-taking with implications for the measurement and interpretation of risk propensities in youth.