Mood Instability and Trait Anxiety as Distinct Components of Eysenckian Neuroticism With Differential Relations to Impulsivity and Risk Taking.

This article presents the results of 2 studies that investigated mood instability in the Eysenck neuroticism scales and its relationship to trait impulsivity and risk taking. In Study 1 we examined the relationship between a mood instability factor in the Eysenck Personality Inventory and impulsivity (i.e., rapid unplanned behavior) in a general population sample of 6,066 adults. The mood instability factor was positively correlated with impulsivity. The remaining factors, largely reflecting trait anxiety, were also positively correlated with impulsivity, although these correlations disappeared when mood instability was included in the same regression model. In Study 2 we factor analyzed the short form of the revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire to isolate mood instability and trait anxiety factors and explore their associations with risk taking in a general population sample of 394,170 adults 40 to 69 years old. The mood instability factor was positively associated with risk taking, whereas the association for the trait anxiety factor was negative. Taken together, the results suggest that mood instability and trait anxiety are separable components of Eysenckian neuroticism and that mood instability is the main component that is positively associated with trait impulsivity and risk taking. Further research is needed to clarify the factor structure of Eysenckian neuroticism.