An Evaluation of Impulsive Choice and Trait Impulsivity in Drug Abusers

The drug abusers tend to make impulsive choice, impatiently choosing a smaller-immediate reward rather than a larger-late reward. The present study compared the impulsive choice and trait impulsivity of three groups of individuals and investigated their relationship. The groups were heroin abusers, methamphetamine abusers and non-drug-using controls. Analysis demonstrated that drug abusing individuals made more impulsive choices or discounted delayed rewards more steeply than individuals with no history of drug use. And these differences did not depend on drug type. Furthermore, no significant correlation found between impulsive choice and trait impulsivity, as well as impulsive choice and drug use variables in drug groups. Overall, this study extended the understanding of behavior process in drug abusers; however, the results need to be verified in future researches.