Results are consistent with the notion that youths with impulse control problems suffer from deficits in self-regulatory behavioral systems that modulate cognitive functioning which is essential in evaluating the immediate benefits from perceived pleasurable activities. Consequently, when faced with risk-taking opportunities, such as sexual activity and drug use, which promise some type of immediate reinforcement (emotional or behavioral), individuals with dysregulated systems are more likely to relent to the urge to engage in the risky behavior. Behaviorally, this deficit in self-regulation can contribute to problems and disorders that likely stem from poor self-regulation, such as drug abuse and risky sexual behaviors. Growing evidence also suggests that deficits in the prefrontal cortex may contribute to this type of dysfunction in the brain’s regulatory system that manifests as deficits in impulse control. Data were collected using a meditational model from 89 young adults, of whom, almost half displayed highly disruptive behaviors as children. Tables and references