Open Collections

UBC Faculty Research and Publications

Development of a Brief Substance Use Sensation Seeking Scale : Validation and Prediction of Injection-Related Behaviors Werb, Dan; Richardson, Christopher G.; Buxton, Jane A.; Shoveller, Jean; Wood, Evan; Kerr, Thomas H.

Abstract

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.

Item Metadata

Title
Development of a Brief Substance Use Sensation Seeking Scale : Validation and Prediction of Injection-Related Behaviors
Creator
Werb, Dan; Richardson, Christopher G.; Buxton, Jane A.; Shoveller, Jean; Wood, Evan; Kerr, Thomas H.
Contributor
BC Centre for Disease Control; British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
Date Issued
2015-02
Description
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.
Subject
Injection; Crystal methamphetamine; Sensation seeking; Street youth; Injection initation
Geographic Location
Downtown-Eastside (Vancouver, B.C.)
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2017-01-23
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0340516
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/60184
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Other UBC; Medicine, Department of; Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of
Citation
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
Publisher DOI
10.1007/s10461-014-0875-z
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher; Graduate
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

Item Media

Item Citations and Data

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International