Students at a middle school and a high school were invited to participate in a survey of interests and preferences. 1 The SSS-V produces an overall score as well as scores on four Participants The sensation seeking construct typically is assessed using Form V of the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS-V Zuckerman, Eysenck, & Eysenck, 1978), which comprises 40-items in forced-choice format. Section snippets Assessment of sensation seeking BSSS scores were reliably and predictably associated with other risk and protective factors. Scores on the full BSSS correlated inversely with negative attitudes toward drug use and positively with drug use sensation seeking as measured by the BSSS was a particularly strong predictor of the intention to try marijuana in the future.

Study 2 participants, who completed the BSSS individually in an interview format, also provided data on their perceptions of and experiences with licit and illicit drugs as well as a series of additional risk and protective factors. Psychometric analyses of the resultant data revealed suitable item characteristics and internal consistency of responses to the items across age (13–17 years), sex, and ethnic categories. Study 1 participants completed a paper-and-pencil form of the BSSS in mass-testing sessions. In two studies, we administered the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS) to more than 7000 adolescents. We developed a self-report measure of sensation seeking, a dispositional risk factor for various problem behaviors.

Reliability and validity of a measure