Impulsivity—Teen Conflict Survey

Abstract

The Impulsivity—Teen Conflict Survey, developed by Bosworth and Espelage in 1995, is a brief, self-report psychological tool designed to measure impulsivity in adolescents. This four-item instrument correlates self-reported impulsive behavior directly with the initiation and escalation of interpersonal conflict among teenagers. It specifically assesses behavioral indicators such as rash actions, lack of persistence, and difficulties with inhibitory control, behaviors known to precede arguments, physical altercations, and negative social outcomes.

Utilizing a 5-point Likert-type scale, the survey serves as a rapid assessment for researchers and practitioners focused on youth violence prevention and conflict management strategies. High scores on the scale indicate a pronounced tendency toward impulsive actions that exacerbate conflict situations, providing valuable insight into risk factors for maladaptive social behavior.

Keywords

Impulsivity, Adolescent behavior, Teen conflict, Aggression, Self-control, Psychological assessment, Youth violence prevention, Behavioral regulation, Bosworth Espelage scale.

Authors

Bosworth K., Espelage D.

Purpose

The central purpose of the Impulsivity—Teen Conflict Survey is to offer a swift, standardized method for quantifying impulsivity as a core psychological trait within the adolescent population. By providing a measurable score, researchers can effectively analyze the mechanisms through which poor self-regulation contributes to the instigation and intensification of arguments and aggressive behavior among peers and family members.

Quantifying this specific trait is crucial for identifying adolescents at heightened risk for conflict-related negative consequences, including physical altercations, disciplinary actions, and overall poor social adjustment. Beyond research, the scale provides actionable data for clinical and educational practitioners, such as counselors, teachers, and parents. This information enables them to pinpoint specific, problematic behavioral patterns, thereby facilitating targeted intervention strategies focused on developing effective coping mechanisms, improving communication skills, and ultimately reducing reliance on verbal or physical aggression during disagreements.

Construct

The scale is designed to capture the psychological construct of Impulsivity, which is operationalized within this context as a predisposition toward rapid, unplanned reactions executed without adequate foresight regarding potential negative consequences. Within the framework of adolescent development, this construct is observed through difficulties related to attentional regulation and motor inhibition.

The specific items included in the survey target distinct observable behaviors: those related to a lack of persistence (e.g., struggling to complete tasks) and those related to restless or hyperactive behavior (e.g., difficulty remaining seated). Crucially, the survey explicitly links this trait to the necessity of self-control in managing social interactions and mitigating harm. By framing impulsivity as a significant predictor of involvement in teen conflict, the scale effectively measures an individual’s capacity for behavioral and emotional regulation during high-stress or confrontational social situations.

Validity

While specific detailed psychometric coefficients regarding concurrent, predictive, or construct validity are typically presented in the original 1995 research publications by Bosworth and Espelage, the instrument’s inclusion in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s authoritative compendium, Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths, strongly suggests that the scale satisfies established criteria for face validity and content validity relevant to measuring precursors of youth violence and conflict.

The design of the four items ensures that they directly reflect common behavioral manifestations of impulsivity associated with poor behavioral regulation among teenagers. For instance, the inclusion of an item focusing on the explicit need for self-control provides further evidence of the scale’s ability to assess both the behavioral tendency toward impulsivity and the cognitive awareness related to managing those tendencies, thus reinforcing its content validity for assessing conflict risk.

Reliability

The source documentation does not explicitly provide specific internal consistency measures, such as Cronbach’s alpha. However, scales selected for inclusion in major governmental and public health compendiums, such as the CDC’s resource, are generally required to demonstrate acceptable levels of reliability within their target population. For brief instruments designed to measure a single, highly focused, or unidimensional construct like impulsivity, demonstrating high internal consistency is a fundamental psychometric prerequisite.

This requirement ensures that all four items consistently contribute to the measurement of the underlying construct, providing a stable and trustworthy total score that accurately reflects pervasive impulsive behavioral tendencies.

Factor Analysis

Due to its brevity—consisting of only four items—the Impulsivity subscale is inherently designed to be unidimensional. Statistically and conceptually, it measures a single core factor related to impulsive behavioral traits that drive conflict. Psychometric procedures, such as exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis performed during the scale’s development, would typically confirm this single-factor structure.

This unidimensionality justifies the straightforward summation method used for calculating the total score. The score, which ranges from 4 to 20, is interpreted as a holistic indicator where a higher value signifies a greater prevalence of impulsive behavior leading to increased risk of aggression and interpersonal conflict.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological Scale (Survey Subscale)

Format: 4 items utilizing a 5-point Likert-type frequency scale.

Language Available: English (as documented in the CDC source compendium).

Population Group: Youth and Adolescents.

Age Group: Typically utilized with middle school and high school aged youth (Adolescence).

Population Details: Primarily used in research settings and prevention studies focused on violence, conflict resolution, and behavioral issues in educational institutions and community programs.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to indicate the frequency with which they engage in or identify with each statement using the following response options:

• Never = 1
• Seldom = 2
• Sometimes = 3
• Often = 4
• Always = 5

Scores are calculated by summing the numerical responses across all four items, resulting in a total score range of 4 to 20 points. Higher scores correspond to higher self-reported levels of impulsivity.

Keywords

Adolescent psychology, Behavioral control, Conflict management, Youth research, Self-regulation, Bosworth Espelage scale, Violence prevention, Inhibitory control.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Information Not Available in Source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Information Not Available in Source.

Correspondence Address: Information Not Available in Source. Original affiliation (1995): Center for Adolescent Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Impulsivity—Teen Conflict Survey was originally published in 1995.

Information concerning current licensing, usage permissions, or associated fees must be obtained directly from the original authors, K. Bosworth and D. Espelage, or the Center for Adolescent Studies at Indiana University, where the instrument was developed. Given the instrument’s inclusion in a widely distributed public health compendium by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is likely available for non-commercial academic or research use.

Reference’s

Bosworth K, Espelage D. Teen Conflict Survey. Bloomington, IN: Center for Adolescent Studies, Indiana University, 1995.

The scale instrument and scoring details are comprehensively documented in the following public health resource:

Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools (p. 236). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf

Items of the Impulsivity—Teen Conflict Survey

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

How often would you make the following statements?

Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always

1. I have a hard time sitting still.
2. I start things but have a hard time finishing them.
3. I do things without thinking.
4. I need to use a lot of self-control to keep out of trouble.