Concurrent validity of the German version of S.B. Eysenck’s impulsiveness questionnaire for children

This study examined whether the German adaptation (IVE) of the I6 Impulsiveness Questionnaire from Eysenck, Easting, and Pearson (1984) is a sufficiently valid instrument to assess impulsivity in school-aged children. Concurrent validity was investigated within a well established laboratory test developed in accordance with a task used by Newman Wallace, Schmitt, and Arnett (1997). Children aged 9–11 years were administered a go/nogo paradigm assessing the ability to inhibit ongoing behaviour (passive avoidance) in order to avoid punishment and nonreward. Results clearly indicate that children who score high on impulsiveness are more impulsive in the used laboratory task than non-impulsive children.