Using sensation seeking to target adolescents for substance use interventions

Abstract

Aims-This study examines the predictive validity of sensation seeking as a predictor of adolescent substance use, in order to optimize targeting for substance use prevention programmes.Design-Longitudinal study. Setting-Random digit dial telephone survey.Participants-6522 U.S. adolescents aged 10-14 years at baseline, resurveyed at 8-month intervals for 3 subsequent waves.Measurements-Two outcomes were assessed--onset of binge drinking (more than 5 drinks in a short time) and established smoking (>100 cigarettes lifetime). Sensation seeking level was assessed at baseline. Logistic regression was used to predict onset of substance use at any followup wave as a function of sensation seeking. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to illustrate how well sensation seeking predicted substance use as a function of different cut-off points for defining high sensation seeking, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AROC) was the metric of predictive validity.Findings-Of 5854 participants with one or more follow up assessments, 5634 reported no binge drinking and 5802 were not established smokers at baseline, of whom 717 (12.7% of 5634) reported binge drinking and 144 (2.5% of 5802) reported established smoking at one or more follow up interviews. Sensation seeking predicted binge drinking moderately well (AROC = 0.71 [95% CI 0.69, 0.73]) and was a significantly better predictor of established smoking onset (AROC = 0.80 [0.76, 0.83)). For binge drinking, predictive validity was significantly lower in Blacks; for established smoking it was significantly higher for Hispanics. Implications for two targeting interventions are discussed.Conclusions-Sensation seeking works moderately well at identifying adolescents at risk for onset of binge drinking and established smoking. This study offers a guide for determining the appropriate targeting cut-off value, based on intervention efficacy, costs and risks.

Caffeinated Alcohol, Sensation Seeking, and Injury Risk

“…Previous studies indicate that individuals who are highsensation seekers tend to be drawn to high-risk activities, including the use of alcohol and illicit drugs. [19][20][21][22][23]27,[24][25][26] Previous research suggests that both CaffAlc 14,43-45 and sensation seeking [46][47][48][49] predict the likelihood of experiencing adverse consequences.…”

“…18 Previous studies indicate that individuals who are high-sensation seekers tend to be drawn to high-risk activities, including the use of alcohol and illicit drugs. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] High-sensation seekers may have an increased susceptibility to the subjective rewarding effects of alcohol. 28 Among college students, higher levels of sensation seeking have been linked to binge drinking.…”

Individual Differences and Social Influences on the Neurobehavioral Pharmacology of Abused Drugs

“…Although drug use can increase sensation seeking (Ersche et al, 2010), longitudinal results also indicate a direct path leading from sensation seeking to initiation (Horvath et al, 2004). Adolescent sensation seekers are at increased risk for use of various drugs, including alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana (Martin et al, 2002(Martin et al, , 2004Sargent et al, 2010). Young adult high sensation seekers also are more sensitive to the effects of drugs (self-administration, positive subjective effects) than are low sensation seekers under controlled laboratory conditions (Stoops et al, 2007;Perkins et al, 2008;Fillmore et al, 2009;Kelly et al, 2009), suggesting that this facet is present before problem use.…”

Influence of Motion Picture Rating on Adolescent Response to Movie Smoking

“…9,33 The sensation-seeking scale used here has been validated in longitudinal research and has a reliabilities comparable to other accepted scales for sensation seeking. 34 To prevent problems due to outliers, covariates were Winsorized at the second and 98th percentiles. 14 …”