Open Collections

Development of a Brief Substance Use Sensation Seeking Scale : Validation and Prediction of Injection-Related Behaviors

BC Centre for Disease Control; British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

Sensation seeking, a personality trait, has been shown to predict engagement in high-risk behaviors. However, little is known regarding the impact of sensation seeking on substance use among street youth. We therefore sought to modify a sensation seeking scale (SSS) for use among this population. Street youth from the Vancouver-based At-Risk Youth Study (n = 226) completed the modified SSS. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA/CFA) were undertaken to establish the scale’s dimensionality and internal validity. The association between SSS score and injection-related behaviors was tested using generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis. EFA results indicated scale unidimensionality. The comparative fit index (CFI) suggested acceptable fit (CFI = 0.914). In multivariate analysis, sensation seeking was independently associated with injection drug use, crystal methamphetamine use, polysubstance use, and binge drug use (all p < 0.05). Our findings provide preliminary support for the use of the modified SSS among street youth.

Downtown-Eastside (Vancouver, B.C.)

Text

2017-01-23

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/60184

Werb, D., Richardson, C., Buxton, J., Shoveller, J., Wood, E., & Kerr, T. (2015). Development of a Brief Substance Use Sensation Seeking Scale : Validation and Prediction of Injection-Related Behaviors and Behavior, 19(2), 352–361

Reviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/