SEXUAL SENSATION SEEKING - SCALE DEVELOPMENT AND PREDICTING AIDS-RISKBEHAVIOR AMONG HOMOSEXUALLY ACTIVE MEN

Sensation seeking, the propensity to prefer exciting, optimal, and nov el stimulation or arousal, is a potential mediating factor in sexual r isk for human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV), the cause of acq uired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, the most widely used measure of sensation seeking, the Sensation Seeking Scale (Zuckerman, Kolin, Price, & Zoob, 1964), contains numerous culturally outdated ite ms and items that do not pertain to sexual behavior. In this study, 10 6 homosexually active men completed newly developed measures of sensat ion seeking related to sexual and nonsexual experiences, as well as a measure of sexual compulsivity. Results show that the new scales were internally consistent and time-stable. Additional analyses demonstrate d convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity for these scales, s howing them to be of use as mediating variables in models of high-risk sexual behavior. Implications for HIV prevention and behavior change are discussed.