SENSATION-SEEKING AND DELINQUENT SUBSTANCE USE - AN EXTENSION OF LEARNING-THEORY

The paper allows an explicit test of a sensation-seeking perspective t o help account for substance use (legal and illegal) among a sample of nearly 1,600 high school students responding to a survey conducted in 1991. We present analyses specific to drinking alcohol, getting drunk , tobacco use, use of marijuana or hash, and use of harder drugs to de termine if factors common to a sensation-seeking perspective help expl ain both the prevalence and frequency of substance use among adolescen ts. Findings provide strong support for considering sensation-seeking variables like thrillseeking, immediate gratification, and impulsivity to help explain self-reported substance use. Our results show that fo r each of the five substance delinquencies examined sensation-seeking factors generate statistically significant influences. Results point t oward intrinsic rewards that initially promote and subsequently reinfo rce substance use, and which center on the fun, thrills, and excitemen t of risky, illegal substance use, and the physiological high generate d by drug or alcohol use. Finally, the relevance of a sensation-seekin g approach to social learning theory is explored.