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. 2018 Jul;30(7):847-856.
doi: 10.1037/pas0000531. Epub 2018 Feb 12.

A test of the psychometric characteristics of the BIS-Brief among three groups of youth

Charles W Mathias  1 , Matthew S Stanford  2 , Yuanyuan Liang  3 , Martin Goros  3 , Nora E Charles  1 , Arielle H Sheftall  1 , Jillian Mullen  1 , Nathalie Hill-Kapturczak  1 , Ashley Acheson  1 , Rene L Olvera  1 , Donald M Dougherty  1
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A test of the psychometric characteristics of the BIS-Brief among three groups of youth

Charles W Mathias et al. Psychol Assess. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) is the most widely administered trait impulsiveness questionnaire. Recently a shorter, unidimensional version of the instrument was developed for adults (BIS-Brief). While psychometric characteristics of the BIS-Brief support its use among adults, it also may be more appropriate for youth samples than the complete BIS-11 because it less burdensome and omits items about activities not usually encountered by children and adolescents. This article describes a test of psychometric characteristics of the BIS-Brief among youth. To measure a sufficiently wide range of scores, analyses were conducted based on secondary data analysis of data sets pooled from 3 distinct youth cohorts aged 10-17: healthy controls (Control; n = 356); those who had a family history of substance use disorder (FH+; n = 302); and psychiatric inpatients (Patients; n = 322). Model fit for the BIS-Brief was good but varied somewhat depending on the respondent cohort. There was a strong correlation between test and re-test BIS-Brief both within a single day and at 6 months, and also a strong correlation between BIS-Brief and BIS-11 scores. Concurrent validity was supported by correlation with questionnaire measures, which tended to be more robustly associated with BIS-Brief than behavioral measures. Both BIS-Brief and BIS-11 forms were similarly associated with other convergent measures. In conclusion, the BIS-Brief is a shorter version of the BIS-11 that reduces participant burden and with psychometric properties that support its use among youth populations. (PsycINFO Database Record

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Scatterplot of Test-Retest Reliability within a Single Day (left panel) and Stability Across 6 Months (right panel). Lines: Solid = 45%, large dashes = linear trend; small dashes = 95% confidence interval.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Scatterplot of BIS-Brief Total Scores by BIS-11 Total Scores. Lines: Solid = 45%, large dashes = linear trend; small dashes = 95% confidence interval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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