Impulsivity in portuguese and spanish college students: an invariance study of the brief upps impulsive behavior scales

This study aims to assess the measurement invariance of the brief UPPS impulsive behavior scales-short version in Portuguese and Spanish college students. The sample was composed of 351 Portuguese and 716 Spanish students with ages ranging between 18 and 26 years. The four-factor structure - urgency, premeditation, perseverance, and sensation seeking - fit the data, although two of the 20 items had to be discarded. Results also indicated adequate reliability for each of the four factors in each sample. The invariance testing results supported partial invariance. No mean differences between both samples were found in urgency, premeditation, and sensation seeking, but the Portuguese sample had higher levels of perseverance. These findings indicate that although this version is reliable, and the four-factor structure is supported in both samples, cross-cultural comparisons should be interpreted with caution due to the lack of invariance of some parameters. Implications for further studies are discussed.Suported by the Program of the Research Centre on Child Studies, also financed by Foundation for Science and Technology (grant reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562; strategic project UID/CE/00317/2013).Financial Support by CIEC (Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho; FCT R&D unit 317, Portugal) by the Strategic Project UID/CED/00317/2013, with financial support of National Funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) and co-financed by European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) through the COMPETE 2020 - Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program (POCI) with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562The last author was also supported by the same foundation [grant number SFRH/BPD/102549/2014]