Impulsiveness and Antisocial Behaviors in Men and Women: An Epidemiological General Population Study in the Southwest of Montreal

Abstract

There is a dearth of literature on the interplay between impulsivity, gender and antisocial behaviors in the general population. Using data from the Montreal Epidemiological Catchment Area study, we sought to identify gender differences in impulsivity and assess whether gender moderates associations between impulsivity and antisocial behaviors. No gender differences were found in impulsivity. Among both men and women, impulsivity was correlated with criminality, aggression and substance dependence. Gender was correlated with criminality, self-aggression, and substance dependence, but did not moderate the relation between impulsivity and any of the outcomes. This study demonstrates that impulsivity is associated with antisocial behaviors equally in both men and women.

Keywords:

• gender differences
• impulsiveness
• aggressive behavior
• criminality
• substance dependence

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND FUNDING

The research was supported by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR # CTP-79839) to Dr. Jean Caron. Dr. Anne Crocker acknowledges the support in the form of a salary award from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Andrea Reyes acknowledges the support from Dr. Crocker's William Dawson Scholar Award from McGill University. The authors wish to thank Véronique Pagé for her guidance in statistical analyses.