Re-Operationalizing Sensation Seeking Through the Development of the Sensation Seeking Personality Trait Scale

Examination of Rumination’s Mediating Role in the Relation Between Distal Personality Predictors, Cannabis Coping Motives, and Negative Cannabis-Related Consequences

“…The Sensation Seeking Personality Trait Scale ( Conner, 2021 ) was used to assess experience seeking (the desire for novel experiences) and risk seeking (the willingness to take risks for those experiences). Sample items from the experience seeking subscale include: “I think it is important to try as many new things as I can” and “I like to experience anything and everything I can,” whereas sample items from the risk seeking subscale include: “I think that excitement is more important than safety” and “I enjoy participating in unsafe activities.” Experience seeking (Project CMS Sample, α = .83; Project SNAP sample, α = .80) and risk seeking (Project CMS Sample, α = .86; Project SNAP sample, α = .80) exhibited good internal consistency in the present study.…”

“…Such traits include sensation seeking, impulsivity, and emotion dysregulation. Sensation seeking is the desire for novel experiences and the willingness to take such risks ( Conner, 2021 ). Impulsivity can be conceptualized via the UPPS-P five-factor model, which includes the factors of negative urgency (the tendency to act impulsively in response to negative emotions), lack of premeditation (acting without reflecting), lack of perseverance (not completing tasks), sensation seeking, and positive urgency (acting impulsively in response to positive emotions; Cyders et al, 2007 ; Whiteside & Lynam, 2001 ).…”

“…Related to emotion dysregulation is low distress tolerance, or a reduced coping threshold for negative emotions, which has been associated with coping motives for cannabis use ( Semcho et al, 2016 ). Overall, these traits have robust relationships with increased cannabis use and undesirable use consequences ( Brook, et al, 2016 ; Conner, 2021 ; Hayaki et al, 2011 ; Neugebauer et al, 2019 ; Pearson et al, 2018 ; Rinehart & Spencer, 2021 ; VanderVeen et al, 2016 ). Further, negative consequences of use often exacerbate cannabis use ( Day et al, 2013 ; Martin-Santos et al, 2017 ).…”