Development of Sensation Seeking Scale for Japanese Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop Sensation Seeking Scale for Japanese Adolescents (SSS-JA). In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis was conducted for 126 items collected from prior studies and our own preliminary study. Four factors were found for the data from 189 undergraduates: thrill and adventure (TAS), disinhibition (Dis), internal sensation seeking (IS), and daily novelty seeking (DNS). In Study 2, SEM analyses were conducted to examine factor pattern invariance across gender of the data from 480 undergraduates, and to compare means of the four factors between men and women, assuming factor pattern invariance across gender. Results indicated factor invariance for the four factors, and significant mean differences on TAS, Dis, and DNS between men and women. In Study 3, Cronbach α and test-retest reliability of the scale, with 545 undergraduates, showed that the four subscales of SSS-JA had good internal consistency and temporal stability. Convergent and discriminant validity of SSS-JA was also discussed.