Description:
The 40-item Sensation Seeking Scale (Zuckerman et al., 1978) includes questions focusing on thrill and adventure seeking, experience seeking, disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility. Example items are: “I like to have new and exciting experiences and sensations even if they are a little frightening” and “I like doing things just for the thrill of it.” Responses are answered on a “true-false” dichotomous scale.
A 6-item version was used in Wave 15.
Reference(s)
Zuckerman, M., Eysenck, S., & Eysenck, H. J. (1978). Sensation seeking in England and America: Cross-cultural, age, and sex comparisons. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 139–149.
Publication(s)
Duell, N., Steinberg, L., Chein, J., Al-Hassan, S. M., Bacchini, D., Chang, L., Chaudhary, N., Di Giunta, L., Dodge, K. A., Fanti, K. A., Lansford, J. E., Malone, P. S., Oburu, P., Pastorelli, C., Skinner, A. T., Sorbring, E., Tapanya, S., Uribe Tirado, L. M., & Alampay, L. P. (2016). Interaction of reward seeking and self-regulation in the prediction of risk taking: A cross-national test of the dual systems model. Developmental Psychology.
Icenogle, G., Steinberg, L., Olino, T. M., Shulman, E. P., Chein, J., Alampay, L. P., Al-Hassan, S. M., Takash, H. M. S., Bacchini, D., Chang, L., Chaudhary, N., Di Giunta, L., Dodge, K. A., Fanti, K. A., Lansford, J. E., Malone, P. S., Oburu, P., Pastorelli, C., Skinner, A. T., Sorbring, E., Tapanya, S., & Uribe Tirado, L. M. (2017). Puberty predicts approach but not avoidance behavior on the Iowa Gambling Task in a multinational sample. Child Development, 88(5), 1598-1614.
Kapetanovic, S., Zietz, S., Lansford, J. E., Bacchini, D., Bornstein, M. H., Chang, L., Deater-Deckard, K., Di Giunta, L., Dodge, K. A., Gurdal, S., Junla, D., Oburu, P., Pastorelli, C., Skinner, A. T., Sorbring, E., Tapanya, S., Steinberg, L., Uribe Tirado, L. M., Yotanyamaneewong, S., Alampay, L. P., & Al-Hassan, S. M. (2023). Parenting, adolescent sensation seeking, and subsequent substance use: Moderation by adolescent temperament. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 52, 1235–1254.
Steinberg, L., Icenogle, Shulman, E. P., Breiner, K., Chein, J. M., Bacchini, D., Chang, L., Chaudhary, N., Di Giunta, L., Dodge, K. A., Fanti, K. A., Lansford, J. E., Malone, P. S., Oburu, P., Pastorelli, C., Skinner, A. T., Sorbring, E., Tapanya, S., Uribe Tirado, L. M., Alampay, L. P., Al-Hassan, S. M., & Takash, H. M. S. (2018). Around the world, adolescence is a time of heightened reward seeking and immature self-regulation. Developmental Science, 21(2).
Waves Used
- YCT Youth 3
- YCT Youth 6
- YCT Youth 9
- YCT Youth 12