Is urgency emotionality? Separating urgent behaviors from effects of emotional experiences.

Previous research has supported the role of positive and negative maladaptive behaviors, but has not addressed the strong conceptual overlap of these traits with frequency/intensity of emotions and lack of premeditation. The current study empirically examined the differential effects of urgency, emotions, and lack of premeditation on risk-taking behavior in a sample of 520 U.S. undergraduate students. The results of the study indicate that (1) urgency is a significant predictor of risky behavior, independent of frequency/intensity of emotions, (2) urgency predicts above and beyond the additive and interactive effects of lack of premeditation and frequency/intensity of emotions, and (3) those who are high in both urgency and drinking motives are at greatest risk for drinking/drunkenness.