Impulsive Compulsive Behavior-related Harm in Older Adults

Individuals who experience impulsive-compulsive behaviors (ICBs) feel over-whelmed by the impulse or urge to perform an activity that may have one time been satisfactory. They are present as an inability to resist the urge, or impulse to engage in pleasurable behaviors. Traditional forms of Impulsive-compulsive behaviors include compulsive eating, compulsive gambling, hypersexuality, compulsive shopping. However, these behaviors are not only limited to being unable to control one’s appetite, buying things one cannot afford, difficulty controlling one’s sexual behaviors and gambling, in fact, there are a lot more ICBs than just these most common types. Impulsive Compulsive Behaviors are prevalent in younger adults, but they are also evident amongst the older population. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to explore Impulsive Compulsive Behaviors in a healthy adult population from a broader perspective of ICBs. We are interested in looking at the varied ICBs in older adults rather than just focusing on the few forms of ICBs. A Medical Model is used to characterize the transition of risky behaviors that may develop ICBs also linked to factors such as impulsivity and compulsivity. Participants are older adults recruited from the general population aged 60 or more. The study employed 4 questionnaires and a total of 136 individual questions, and the questionnaires were administered in Qualtrics and recruited individuals from the general population using Prolific. Correlation analysis will be used in the analysis.