Unpacking the Construct of Dysregulated Behaviors Using Variable-Centered and Person-Centered Analytic Approaches

Abstract

Dysregulated behaviors (e.g., alcohol and drug use, aggression, self-harm, gambling, binge eating) occur frequently and can be severely costly to individuals and society. Yet, little is known about the construct of dysregulated behaviors, including (a) whether it is distinct from related constructs such as compulsive behaviors and sensation-seeking, (b) whether its components share common correlates (e.g., impulsigenic traits, reward sensitivity, and emotion dysregulation), and (c) identify and describe patterns of dysregulated behaviors. To address these gaps in the literature, this study used variable-centered and person-centered analyses in a racially diverse sample of undergraduates (n = 338). In support of evidence distinguishing dysregulated behaviors from related constructs, correlational analysis indicated that the associations with compulsive behaviors were small and nonsignificant. In terms of construct validity, we found relatively strong and consistent evidence for impulsigenic traits across dysregulated behaviors but relatively inconsistent evidence for associations with reward sensitivity and emotion dysregulation. Finally, person-centered analysis indicated the presence of three classes characterized by high dysregulated behavior, low dysregulated behavior, and aggressive self-harm behavior. The likelihood of being classified in these classes differed considerably based on impulsigenic traits and emotion dysregulation. These results may have implications for the classification and treatment of dysregulated behaviors. Taken together, this study advances our understanding of dysregulated behaviors and sets the stage for further theory development and hypothesis testing regarding the onset, maintenance, and treatment of dysregulated behaviors.

Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2022.2026966 .

Keywords:

• Alcohol use
• aggression
• self-harm
• latent class analysis

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Data availability statement

The data used for this project can be found at https://osf.io/wn8s5/?view_only=b0cd4e69549a4409bd36a67eea2cd639.

Notes

1 For a thorough analyses of the role of dysregulated behaviors in relation to contemporary models of psychopathology (e.g., DSM-5, Research Domain Criteria, and the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology) see Bresin (2020).

2 We focused on lifetime frequency because it maximized variation, which reduces concerns about restriction of range.