The Brief Sensation-Seeking Scale: Latent Structure, Reliability, and Validity From a Sample of Youths At-Risk for Delinquency

ABSTRACT

Sensation seeking is a robust predictor of a wide array of conduct problems that include juvenile delinquency and antisocial behaviors during adolescence and young adulthood. The primary aim of the present study was to adapt the Brief Sensation-Seeking Scale (BSSS) for use in research on youths atrisk for delinquency. With a sample of 412 male and female participants (M = 13.19 years, SD = 1.41) from Portugal, confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the one-factor latent structure of the scale obtained a good fit, and measurement invariance across gender was demonstrated. The BSSS showed mostly good psychometric properties, namely in terms of internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha and omega coefficient), convergent validity (with delinquent behaviors and dark triad traits of personality), discriminant validity (with self-esteem and self-control), and criterion-related validity (with health-risk behaviors such as drug use, unprotected sex) that overall justifies its use among the adolescent population at risk for delinquency.

KEYWORDS:

• assessment
• sensation seeking
• youth
• validation

Additional information

Funding

This study was partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; Grant SFRH/BPD/86666/2012). During the writing of this manuscript, Rick Hoyle was funded by grant P30DA023026 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.