Measuring the Gap: Predictions of Nonsuicidal Self-injury, Substance Misuse, and Health-risk Sexual Behavior via Dual Systems Theory

The dual systems theory of health risk behaviors posits that maladaptive behaviors during late adolescence and early adulthood are the result of differential developmental trajectories of a cognitive control system and socioemotional system. The divergence or "gap" between these two systems was modeled as two Latent Gap Scores (LGS) in a sample of college undergraduates (N = 7,109) and associations with health risk behavior were tested. Robust associations were found between these latent scores and engagement in substance misuse, risky sexual behavior, and non-suicidal self-injury. These results provide support for dual systems theory and represent a novel assessment of personality factors with respect to engagement in health-risk behaviors.