science

Impulse-control disorder

Impulse-control disorder is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Impulse-control disorder rather than just read about it. In short: Impulse-control disorder (ICD) is a class of psychiatric disorders characterized by impulsivity – failure to resist a temptation, an urge, or an impulse; or having the inability to not speak on a thought. The fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) that was published in 2013 includes a new chapter on disruptive, impulse-control, and conduc…

Key takeaways

Impulse-control disorder belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Impulse-control disorder to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Impulse-control disorder from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Impulse-control disorder (ICD) is a class of psychiatric disorders characterized by impulsivity – failure to resist a temptation, an urge, or an impulse; or having the inability to not speak on a thought. The fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) that was published in 2013 includes a new chapter on disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders covering disorders "characterized by problems in emotional and behavioral self-control". The World Health Organization publishes a similar list of impulse control disorders in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD), with some overlaps and differences. Five behavioral stages characterize impulsivity: an impulse, growing tension, pleasure on acting, relief from the urge, and finally guilt (which may or may not arise).

DSM-5 Types The DSM-5 lists several disorders in its Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders chapter, without further specifying which of those categories each disorder may belong to. Trichotillomania (hair-pulling) and skin-picking were moved in DSM-5 to the obsessive–compulsive chapter, and "pathological gambling" was replaced with "gambling disorder" in the addictive disorders section. Many other DSM-5 disorders may include difficulties in self-control of behavior. The ones in this chapter of the DSM-5 generally involve actions that violate others' rights, or cause conflicts with social norms, authorities, or laws. The underlying causes may be different in each disorder or each individual. Several other new classifications were proposed prior to the publication of the DSM-5. Among those were compulsive–impulsive (C–I) Internet usage disorder, C–I sexual behaviors, C–I skin picking and C–I shopping. They were ultimately not included in those forms. The DSM-5 states that there is insufficient evidence to produce diagnostic criteria needed to establish repetitive behavior patterns sometimes called sex addiction, exercise addiction, or shopping addiction, as mental disorders, and thus they are not included, either as impulse control disorders or addictions.

Oppositional defiant disorder

Intermittent explosive disorder

Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) is a clinical condition of experiencing recurrent aggressive episodes that are out of proportion of any given stressor. Earlier studies reported a prevalence rate between 1–2% in a clinical setting, but a study done by Coccaro and colleagues in 2004 had reported about 11.1% lifetime prevalence and 3.2% one month prevalence in a sample of a moderate number of individuals (n=253). Based on the study, Coccaro and colleagues estimated the prevalence of IED in 1.4 million individuals in the US and 10 million with lifetime IED.

Conduct disorder

Antisocial personality disorder

This personality disorder is also dual coded in this chapter, because it is closely connected to the range of "externalizing" impulse control disorders.

Pyromania

Pyromania is characterized by impulsive and repetitive urges to deliberately start fires. Because of its nature, the number of studies performed for fire-setting are understandably limited. However, studies done on children and adolescents with pyromania have reported its prevalence to be between 2.4 and 3.5% in the United States. It has also been observed that the incidence of fire-setting is more common in juvenile and teenage boys than girls of the same age.

Kleptomania

Kleptomania is characterized by an impulsive urge to steal purely for the sake of gratification. In the US, the presence of kleptomania is unknown but has been estimated at 6 per 1000 individuals. Kleptomania is also thought to be the cause of 5% of annual shoplifting in the U.S. If true, 100,000 arrests are made in the U.S. annually due to kleptomaniac behavior.

ICD-11 types In common with the DSM-5, the World Health Organization's ICD-11 includes pyromania, kleptomania, and intermittent explosive disorder as impulse control disorders. Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct-dissocial disorder are instead listed under "disruptive behaviour or dissocial disorders". In contrast, it also includes several other disorders such as compulsive sexual behavior disorder, substance-induced impulse control disorders, gambling disorder, gaming disorder, body-focused repetitive behavior disorders (hair pulling, skin picking, etc.) and compulsive buying–shopping disorder, as forms of impulse control disorders.

Compulsive sexual behavior disorder

Sexual compulsion includes an increased urge in sexual behavior and thoughts. This compulsion may also lead to several consequences in the individual's life, including risky partner selection, increased chance for STIs and depression, as well as unwanted pregnancy. There has not yet been a determined estimate of its prevalence due to the secretiveness of the disorder. However, research conducted in the early 1990s in the United States gave prevalence estimates between 5–6% in the U.S. population, with male cases being higher than female.

Compulsive buying–shopping disorder

Compulsive shopping or buying is characterized by a frequent irresistible urge to shop even if the purchases are not needed or cannot be afforded. The prevalence of compulsive buying in the U.S. has been estimated to be 2–8% of the general adult population, with 80–95% of these cases being females. The onset is believed to occur in late teens or early twenties and the disorder is considered to be generally chronic.

Signs and symptoms The signs and symptoms of impulse-control disorders vary based on the age of the persons with them, the actual type of impulse-control that they are struggling with, the environment in which they are living, and whether they are male or female.

Co-morbidity

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Impulse-control disorder

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Impulse-control disorder claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Impulse-control disorder before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Impulse-control disorder ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Impulse-control disorder

In research: Impulse-control disorder appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Impulse-control disorder in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Impulse-control disorder is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Conformity, Impulse-control disorders, Mental disorders, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Impulse-control disorder outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Impulse-control disorder in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Impulse-control disorder means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Impulse-control disorder out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Impulse-control disorder in simple terms?

Why does Impulse-control disorder matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Impulse-control disorder?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Impulse-control disorder.