Reliability and validity of a short Japanese version of the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to verify the reliability and validity of a Japanese version of the S-UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale. This is expected to facilitate comparisons of findings between international and Japanese samples in studies of impulsivity. METHODS: Two surveys were conducted. In the first survey, 632 participants, aged 20–44 years old, completed a translated version of the Japanese S-UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale, the Motor Impulsiveness Scale, a short form of the Big-Five scale, the short Grit scale, and the brief version of the self-control scale. Two weeks later, the second survey containing the S-UPPS-P and the motor impulsiveness scale were completed by 450 participants who had completed the first survey to examine test-retest reliability. RESULTS: In the first survey, an exploratory factor analysis was performed on the S-UPPS-P responses. A four-factor solution was the most suitable solution, with the factors of “Lack of Perseverance,” “Lack of Premeditation,” “Sensation Seeking,” and “Negative-Positive Urgency.” Then, a confirmatory factor analysis was performed. The conformity index of the original five-factor model was slightly better than that of the four-factor model. We also compared the five-factor model’s conformity index with three other models that had been examined in the original and other foreign language versions of the S-UPPS-P. The five-interrelated factor model had the best model fit. The reliability of the five scales was confirmed. The scales exhibited internal consistency with α coefficients ranging from 0.65 to 0.79, in addition to the test-retest reliability ranging from 0.74 to 0.80. The convergent validity of each S-UPPS-P scale was supported by high relationships with the four personality scales, with the highest correlation coefficients ranging from 0.37 to −0.67. CONCLUSION: The reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the S-UPPS-P were confirmed, despite the minor limitations of the exploratory factor analysis providing a four-factor solution instead of a five-factor solution, and the α reliability coefficients of two scales being acceptable but rather low. Thus, comparisons of findings between international and Japanese studies on impulsivity could be facilitated.