Article archive / June 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 6. Source pages: 11, 12.
Editors William G. McCown, Judith L. Johnson, and Myrna B. Shure American Psychological Association 1993
Before there was Baumeister’s The Handbook of Self Regulation, before there was Zuckerman’s Psychobiology of Personality, before Barkley’s ADHD and the nature of self-control, even before Procrastination and Task Avoidance, there was The Impulsive Client: Theory, Research, and Treatment, an edited volume where Drs. William McCown, Judith Johnson, and Myrna Shure tied together the threads of an exploding field of research, theory and practice on a growing topic of societal importance.
The 1993 work satisfied the need for a comprehensive look at impulsiveness from the scientist-practitioner perspective, and the growing awareness that impulsiveness, and the negative impact of the trait on lives and society, was on the rise.
McCown and coauthors pointed to increasing death rates with firearms attributed to impulsive acts or lack of sufficient reflection, a rise in child behavior disorders, and a rise adult impulsiveness involving violence, abuse, sexually risky behavior, eating, alcohol, and drug use. It wasn’t all about the youths. “Among adults,” wrote the authors, “problems related to impulsive behavior are also at unprecedented levels.”
The text is strong on historical context, and still relevant and interesting 22 years later. One of the reasons for this is that this edited work includes some of the giants in the field at the tme.
Hans Eysenck wrote a chapter in the section on historical perspectives, titled “The Nature of Impulsivity.” Marvin Zuckerman provided the chapter, “Sensation Seeking and Impulsivity: A Marriage of Traits Made in Biology.” Luciano L’Abate provided “A Family Theory of Impulsivity.” Ernest Barratt added a chapter on “Impulsivity: Integrating Cognitive, Behavioral, Biological, and Environmental Data.” And, Joseph Ferrari provided the chapter on that became a forerunner to his book with Johnson and McCown on procrastination only two years later.
With clear, cogent thinking about psychology, research and practice, the editors were able to pull these and other heavyweights in psychology together. That should not be surprising, because this is just one in a long list of powerful works by the team of researchers and authors, McCown, Johnson, and Shure. Still, very impressive.
Perhaps another reason for the value of the text was the growing perspectives and the growing awareness of the central importance of self-control in the lives of people and the quality of societal, community living. If there is one thing that humans are designed to do, it is to regulate our behavior, the authors explained. The presence or absence of self-control relates to a profound impact on people’s everyday lives, and the authors pulled together what was known about the cognitive, behavioral, and biological and environmental perspectives required for integrated and purposeful actions.
The text is divided into three sections: “I. Historical Perspective and Etiology of Impulsivity; II. Current Research and Special Populations; and III. Treatment of Impulsivity.”
William McCown coauthored the chapter, “Impulses, Impulsivity, and Impulsive Behaviors: A Historical Review of a Contemporary Issue,” with Philip A. DeSimone. The growing focus on brain development was outlined in a chapter, “A Neurodevelopmental View of Impulsivity,” by Jorge H. Daruna and Patricia A. Barnes.
The integrative view came into sharper focus with Ernest Barratt’s chapter, “Impulsivity: Integrating Cognitive, Behavioral, Biological, and Environmental Data.”
And Hans Eysenck, Marvin Zuckerman, and Luciano L’Abate added their chapters in the section on current theoretical understanding. This section concludes with the novel perspective of Terry Marks- Tarlow’s, “A New Look at Impulsivity: Hidden Order Beneath Apparent Chaos?”
The section on “Current Research and Special Populations includes Sybil B. G. Eysenck’s “Development of a Measure of Impulsivity and Its Relationship to the Superfactors of Personality,” is followed by Scott Dickman’s “Impulsivity and Information Processing,” and “The Role of Impulsiveness in Normal and Disordered Eating,” authored by Michael R. Lowe and Kathleen L. Eldredge.
The topic, “Impulsive Behavior and Substance Abuse,” was coauthored by Willard L. Johnson, Robert M. Malow, Sheila A. Corrigan, and Jeffery A. West.
“Perfectionism and Goal Orientation in Impulsive and Suicidal Behavior,” are topics covered by Paul Hewitt and Gordon Flett, and “Procrastination and Impulsiveness: Two Sides of a Coin?” was contributed by Joseph R. Ferrari, conclude the section on research.
In the final section, “Treatment of Impulsivity,” beginning with a chapter by Alieen Fink and Bill McCown, authors looked at “Impulsivity in Children and Adolescents: Measurement, Causes, and Treatment.”
Judith Holmes, Judith Johnson, and Ann L. Roedel, follow with, “Impulsivity in Adult Neurobehavioral Disorders.”
In “Management of the Adult Impulsive Client: Identification, Timing, and Methods of Treatment,” Michael Bütz and Sean Austin reviewed practical issues of working with adults.
A notable and essential chapter about, “Legal Issues in Treating the Impulsive Client,” is authored by Eric Drogin and Laurie Ann Drogin.
Judith Johnson and Katherine Bishop outline clinical issues in, “The Impulsive Woman as Client: Treating the Legacy of Shame.”
In “Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving as Prevention and Treatment of Impulsive Behaviors” concludes the volume, authored by Maria Touchet, Myrna Shure, and Bill McCown.
The importance of concepts and applications presented in The Impulsive Client remains as important today as in 1993, despite the advancements over the years. A failure or issue with self-control can underlie individual and social problems of all kinds, the authors told us: Alcoholism, smoking, over-eating, drug addition, gambling, over-spending.
Violence can be related to failure to control aggressive impulses. Obedience of the Milgram variety can be related to overcome the need to comply. Emotional problems can be related of failures in self-efficacy and control to avoid or recover from negative feelings, the experts in The Impulsive Client tell us. Underachievement and procrastination can be related to self-control and will power problems. Traffic deaths, suicides, domestic abuse, sexual behaviors, -––on and on. The text brought to the reader an awareness of a underlying characteristic that bridged between symptoms, causes and treatments.
The authors’ look into the integration of theories and practice related to self-control was a major contribution to focus clinicians’ attention and enlighten researchers’ efforts that followed. The volume did a wonderful job to highlight where we were and where we were heading, in understanding and treating this central issue of nearly every aspect of human behavior.
Dr. McCown will speak at the Louisiana Psychological Association, Friday, June 13 on– “The Impulsive Client: A Twenty Year Update on the Treatment Process”
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.