Journal of Personality Assessment

ISSN: 0022-3891 (Print) 1532-7752 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hjpa20

Sexual Sensation Seeking: Scale Development

and Predicting AIDS-Risk Behavior Among
Homosexually Active Men

Seth C. Kalichman , Jennifer R. Johnson , Veral Adair , David Rompa , Ken

Multhauf & Jeffrey A. Kelly

To cite this article: Seth C. Kalichman , Jennifer R. Johnson , Veral Adair , David Rompa , Ken
Multhauf & Jeffrey A. Kelly (1994) Sexual Sensation Seeking: Scale Development and Predicting
AIDS-Risk Behavior Among Homosexually Active Men, Journal of Personality Assessment, 62:3,
385-397, DOI: 10.1207/s15327752jpa6203_1

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6203_1

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 Sexual Sensation Seeking: Scale
Development and Predicting
AIDS-Risk Behavior Among
Homosexually Active Men

Seth C. Kalichman, Jennifer R. Johnson. \'era1 Adax,

David R o m p , Men Multhauf. and Jeffrey A . Kelly

Sensation seeking, the propensity :o prefer emiing. opiimzi. ~ n novei

d stirnu-
latiori or arousai. is a potentid med;at:zg factor ir: sexual r s k for human
immunodeficiency virus infecricr, ;Hl\i;;. rhc ca.;se of acqurred immunociefici-
e r c p syncfrore <.AIDS),Eicwever. the most widely used measure of sensxioc
seeking. the Sensa:ior;. Seeking Scaie tZuckerman. Kolin. Price, 8 Znob. 1954).
contnins nuzerous cu!txaliy outda:cd i t e m and items that cia not pexain to
sexua1 behavior. In :his stuciy, i06 homosexually acrive men cornpietcd newIy
deveioped measures of sensaticln seekng related to sexual and ncnsexuzl expe-
r i e x e s . as weIl as a measure of sexud c o m p I s i ~ i : y .Results shcw t5ar the cew
scaies were internaily coi:slsteni and time-stabie. Additionai zEalpes demon-
strzted c o n v q e n r , ciiwz-gent, and discriminant validity for these s:&~. show-
k g them to b e o f use as mediating vzrrabies ir: moiiels of high-ris~sexuai
hchvior lmplicatisns for HIV prevention and behavior change we discussed.

Human r n ~ m u n ? o d e E ~ a t n cllrtis
j HIV) the c z u ~ i lagent cf a:q.~rred rm-
muraodef~c:enq s!ndrorne (AIDS:, :s principal' trcnsrn::ted through sexual
and drug use behawors H o r n o s e x . ~ a : l ~actlve men c o n s t ~ t u t e64% of U S
reported AIDS cases iCenrers for Disease Con:rol. :993'1. 17-hereas reduL-
tions in HIT.' rrsk behavior are well estab:ished among homcsesuslI:, acttLe
men in urban centers l e g . Becker 62 Joseph 195%:Mar?.n, 198- ? r l ~ K ~ i i c k .
Hortsman. & Coates. 1985 :, recent stadres h 3 \ e also s h o n \.n that near'! one
thrrd cf g q men o u t s ~ d ecf HI?' ep1cei:rers c o n t x u e to engage In m a 1
mterconrse withatit c o n d o m (Ke!ly et 1991 , :he bexuai h e r a \ ~ t ? rthat
confers greatest risk for contracting HIV (Kingsley et al., 1984). In addition,
several recent studies indicate that a substantial number of gay men. even in
AIDS epicenters. experience periodic lapses to unsafe sex (e.g., Ekstrand &r
Coates, 1990: KeIly, Kalichrnan, eta!., 1991). Thus. current rates of HIW rlsk
behav~ors.and perhaps resistance to sexuai behzvaor change, siili place a
large proporticn of homosexually actike men at risk for contracting HIV
infection.
Efforts to prevent HIV infection wilt be i ~ p r o w dby identifying media:-
ing factors asssclated with resistance to adopting risk reduction practices.
Studies have identified situationaI factors, relationship characterist~cs,pat-
terns of substance kse, and attitudes related to r ~ s kreduction as pred~ctorsof
HIV risk behavior in gay men (e.g.. Asplnwatii, Kemeny, Taylor, Schneider,
Sr Dudkey, 1991, Kelly, Kalichnan. et ai.. 1991; KeEHy, St Lawrence. B
BrasfieHd, 1991). In contrast to extrinsic factors and health beliefs, there
have been fe\ru investigations of personality d!spos:fions related to HTV risk
beha~ioss Brae disposition ~dentifiedas partlculariy relebant to HIV risk
behavior 1s serasation seeking. defined as the tendency Fa prefer exciting,
optimal. and novel levels of srimdation or arousal (Zuckerman. Eyset~ck,B
Eysenck, 19-8,. As an objective measnre of sensation seeknng, Zuckerman
and his colleagues (Zuckerman, 1971; Zuckerman. Kolrn. Price. 8r Zoob.
196-9, Zuckerman et a ] . , i978) developed the Sensation Seeking Scale, re-
fleeting thrill and adventure seeking, experience seeking. disinrhibntion. and
boredom suscepribiiity. Zackerman and colleagues 4 1938? presented sub-
stantial evidence fer the reEiabi2ity arnd vaindity of the Sensation Seeicing
Scale in cross-cultural sampies.
Based on findings from studies that relate sensation seeking :a Iewer
levels sf concern wrth the consequences of personal behaviors (Zuckerman
et a].. 1978), Fisher and Misovich (1990) investigated the Aationship be-
tween high-risk sexual behaviors and scores on the Zuckerman Sensation
Seeking Scale among hsrnssexual men and heterosexual college students.
Results showed that sensation seeking vvas significantly correlated with
number of sexual partners for both honzosexuals and heterosexuals. Sensa-
tion seeking also correlated with the number sf unfamiliar sexuaE partners
reported by college stnckenrs. These findings led Fisher and Misovich to
conclude that "sensation seekers probably do constitute a high-risk group for
AIDS, owing to their greater number of sexual partners and generalky iiow
level of concern about incurring the disease" (1990, p, 55). Newcomb and
McGee (1992) identified n similar pattern of significant relationships be-
tween heterosexual experlenees and sensation seeking subscakes measuring
disinhibition and boredom susceptibility.
Although sensation seeking remains a potentially v~ableconstruct with
respect to predicting high-risk sexual behavior, inspection of the item con-
rent of the Zuckerman and colleagues 1 1 375) scale suggests that many of the
items are culturally outdated. such as '7 enjoy the company of real swingers"
and 7 would like to make friends in some of the 'far-out' groups like artists
 SEXUAL SEXS.4TlQX SEEMING A N D IIiV RISK 387

or 'hrpp~es' " En addition. the scale is of lirn~tsduse with hornssexuailj

active men because of Items such as ''I mould like to meet some persons wha
are hnrnosexual (men or momen}" a n d "I like to date members of the oppo-
srte sea who are physicall) exciting." Finally, because substance use 1s a
reha5le predxctor of hngh-risk seal~albeha.rlor c'e.g., McCusker et a]., 19901.
the aicohol and drug use items on the Zuckerman and colleagues scale, such
as "I hsie tried marijuana or would like to,'' "I often like to get hrgh
{drinking Iiqrsor or smoking marijuana)," "keepng the dnnks full I S the key
to a good party," and "I feel hest after taking a couple of drinks." v d J likely
result in an ~llusorqcorreEation between sensatLon seeking and risky sexual
practices, as ma) hzce been the case in Fisher and btisovrch's (19901 a n d
Meiviamb and McGee's (199I i studies.
Sensat~onseeking ma! constitute an important predictor of HI%' risk a n d
of resistance to change hrgb-risk sexual Oehzv~or Howeker. because the
Zrackerrnan and colleagues ; 197s) Sensation Seeking Scale seems to he of
ImEted use as a mezsure for the purposes of predming HIV r:sk. \be d e el- ~
cped a measure of sensatron seeking specific to sexual behavlo: En add::~or:
to the sexual sensation seekrng scale, we developed a n o n s e x ~ a lexgerjence
seeking scale u ~ t hiontemporar) item contex:t and 2 neasure of sexual
cornpu:s:\ it) In this study. % e examined the psjcmrnetric properties of
rhese measures and their b a l ~ ein predncting h~gh-nsicsexual Seimc:ar
arm1:g hcrnosexuaily acti\e men, a population of part~cuiarr e l e ~ a n c eto
HlV pre\ ention

METHOD

Conceptmi Basis of [tern Content

A three-step process u as used in scale dekelopment F ~ r s t A'. e examxed the

scale content of the onginas Sensat~onSeekmg Scafe and selected a set of
r:ems uith high factor l u a d i ~ g sfrom each of the few factors reported hy
Zuzkerrnan and colleagues r I9?8\ Next, we conducted discussions with a
gro:ip of f l \ e culturallq drkerse g a j men to refine ::em termnolog> and
develap sexually related items. Sexual sensation seekmg mas operationall>
dehned as the propenslr) to attain optimal levels of sexual exc:tement and to
engage in navel sexual experiences. The scale was deLeboped b) reilsrng
selera) of the Zmekerrnan and colleagues Items to reflect sexuali> relevanr
rhemes For example, the item "I like wild 'un:nhtb?:ed' parties" p a s revised
13 read "1 like wild 'unmhrbnted' sexual encounters". "I enjo) u-atchi~g
man? of the sex] scenes In ~ n o \ i e s "was re5ised to "I enjoy uatching
'X-rated' videos": and "I like to try new foods that 1 have ne.rer tasted
before" A as revised to "I am nslierested In trying out nen sexuai experr-
ences." Srx additional sterns were eliher adapted from the Zuckerman and
colleagues scale or were developed from the small group discuss~onsjust
uescrtbed FtnaIlq. items uere p l o t tested for feedback concernnng c1ari:y
and persona! relevance in a sample of eight ga? men, three heterosexrsaI men,
and five women.
The same procedure was used to develop two other scales: a 10-item
nonsexual experience seeking scale (exampie relised item rs "I could can-
ceive of myself seeking pleasures aroand the world with the 'jet set"' revised
to "E can see myself seeking pleasures around :he world with 'exciting'
peopIe9'), and a 10-item measure of sexual compulsivlry, deriving Irems from
a self-help guide for persons with sexual addictions (Comp Care, 198'7).
Items on all three subscales were ptaced on a 4-pomt scaHe, ranging from .Vor
At AII L k k ~Me (1) ro Er?]Much Like Me ( 4 ) .

Participants

One hundred srx self-identif~edhomosexually active men were recruited

through advertssements in; newspapers and communxg- outreach to sexually

-
transmtted cisease clinics serving gay communities. The mean age of partic-
ipants was 33 67 years jSD 10.58. range 18 to 68). Sixty-seven percenr of
the sample were White, 25% were Afzcaa-American. and 8% were or"o ~ h e r
ethnic backgrounds. With respect to education. 95% reported graduating
high school. znd 61% received higiaer edlrcatlon Thzrty-elght percent of
participants reported amual incomes under $10,000. and 57% reported an-
neua! incomes greater than $28,000. Ninety-one percent had been tested for
HIV antibodies: 7l O/o were HIV aaiibody negative. 19% were RBV posit~ve,
and 109 did not know their test resniis. Twenty-fcur percent cf participants
reported engagme rn msertive anal intercourse without condoms. and 35%
reported receptive anal Intercourse ~ i t h o u acondoms, in the past 3 months.

Additional Measures

In addition to our newly developed scales. participants completed the foi-

lowing measures to test scale convergent and divergent \a?sdity: the 10-item

-
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, shown to be reliable and valid by Rosenberg
11965: our study's alpha coefficient .83:: the 8-liem form of the UCL.4
Lorieliness Scale, Found reliable and valid and correlated with the fill U C L h
LcmeB~nessScale (Hays SL DiMetteo, 1987: our study's alpha = .36!; and the
Perceived Sexual Control scale, dekeloped and standardized by Exner.
Meyer-Bahlbarg. and Ehrhardt iE YX?). also with strong reksability and vziid-
i t y (alpha = .85 in our sample,. Participants also completed objective self-re-
port measures of sexual and substance use behaviors in the past 3 months
using standardized retrospective instruments Measures of sexual behavmt
slmiiar to those used in this stud? h a w been shown to have acceptattle Bevels
of reliability (Karrth, St. Lawrence. B Kelly, 1931 1. FlnalIy. participants
rated the perceived pleasure of nine sexuaF behaviors of varyrng degrees of
risk for HIV mfection aiong a - p o i n t scale ranging from ,Yo; at Ail PEeasur-
able (: J es extreme!^ Pleorwable ( 5 ) .
 S E X 4 L SENSATIOI SEFKINC- A\II i i I V R I S K 389

TABLE i
Itern-ta-Totat Correlatrons Item Means, and Standard B s v i a t i o n ~ISDI 'or the
Sexual Sensatior? Seekrns Stale

1 ':ke wiid "unint.,lbi~ed"sexual encounters.

I have made p:ornises i drd nor mean t o keep rc
get. E ;lerson :C have sex with me.
1 have fek curious about hav~nga n d ime:cou:se
wirhout a condom.
I e n p y the cornpan.; 3f "sensua!" peopie.
l ecjo.; watching "X-rated" uiaeos.
I have said things that were not exactly true rc get
a persoc ro have sex with me.
I am interested in tryicp ou! new sexual
experiences.
I fee! I k e exploring my sexuali:).
1 like new and exciting sexuai experiences and
sensations.

RESULTS

Reliability

4cLeptahle levels of ;nternaI consrsrencq were denaenstrated for t h e sexual

sensatien s e e k ~ n p(alpha = '75). nonsexua! experience seeking (alpha = 59;.
and sexual cernpulszr ti (alpha = 89) sca1es Tables 1 rhrocgh ? present the
tex-to-total corre!ations and Iten means and sta:rda:d de\iatlonf for each
scale As shon i'r i n the tables. items on each scale were consistent w i t h the
total scale coctent
T ~ ekaluate
P the temporal stabiht! of the scales. a subse: of _16men f s o n
:he sample eompbered the measures 2 weeks after the f m t adnin~s:;aaon
Test-retest coefflcnenis were acceptable far the sexual sensation seekrnf
' 451. n o n s e x ~ a lexperience seeking i 89). and sexual cornpulsi.cit! f 95)
Sca'es

External Corretates

Table 4 presents the coxelatlons among measures of sensatlor. seeking.

sexual compuls:! ~t!. sexmt C O ~ X L ? ~self-esteem.
, :onelines. sexuz! beha\ -
rsr, and substnnce use ' Inspecrlon of the :zbk indrcates that the sexuai

' ~ e c a u s edisiribmtions cf sexual behzvior .and dcohnr and drug use were hlphl? skewed. these
d a ; ~werc rransfarmed fo: parametric nnaiyses usmg the formxi; L o g ~ i X+ 1). as recornmended
by 'Kine: i 197':: and Kirn ( ! 968: Observed values. bcwese:, w e presenrrd ir: TAie 6
 TABLE 2
[kern-to-Total Correlations, Item Means, and Standard Deviations (SD) for the
Nonsexual Experience Seekmg Scale
--

.&ern-to-Total
Item CoveEmorr Mean SD
I can see myseIf seekrng pleasures aroand the
world with 'kexcltlng" people. .42 2.53 i .CB
I would like parachute jumping.** .57 2.15 i.21
1 sometimes like to do things that are a little
frightening. .42 2.36 .96
1 enjoy the feeling of fas; driving or riding in a
speeding car. "58 2.14 1.10
1 get bored seeing the same old faces.** 24 2.84 .56
1 nsuvlly don't errjoy a movie or a play where 1
can predict what will happen in advance.** .29 2.36 1.16
1 have been known by ny friends as a "risk taker." .37 1.94 1.MI
I wouid enjoy ;he sensations of skiing very fast
down a high mountain slope.** .52 1.90 1.08
While driving, 1 win sometimes cry to run yellow
lights for he rlarili of it. .41 1.59 .82
I wouid like to try ' h n g e e jumping." .S9 E .75 1.07
Xofe. **ken rerained f ~ a mZuckerrnari et a:. (1978) Sensation Seekisg Scde.

SABLE 3
!\em-to-solat Correlatrcms, atem Means, ana Standard Devistions (SDj for the
Sexual Compulsivity Scab
Item-to- 7btai
Item Correhnbn Mean SD
M y s e m d appetite has potter: in the way of my
relationships. .46 1.83 I .01
My sexmai thoughts and behaviors are causing
problems in my life. .5d 1 "78 "95
My desires to have sex have disrupted my dai!y
kfr. .63 1.66 -91
I somerimes fail to meei my commitments and
respomsi5ili~iesbecause of my sexual behaviors. -68 E 34 .81
I sometimes ger so horny I could lose control. "62 2.28 1.22
I find myserf thinking abour sex while ;p: work. .56 2.86 .98
1 feel that my sexual thoughts and feelings are
s:ronger than 1 am. .5i 1.?b .97
I have to struggle to control my sexual thoughts
and behavior. .77 E .83 .98
I think about sex more than I would like to. .67 1.99 1.36
It has been difficult for me to find sex partners
who desire having sex as much as I want to. "59 2.M 1.OI
 TABLE 5
Co:reBatEons Between Sexus! Sensation Seeking, Experience Seeking, Sexual
Gsm~~lsiuBty, and Perceived Pleasure of High- and Low-Risk Sexual Acts
Scales

Cuddling .01 .!O - .02

Msturpl masturbation .29** .24* .IS
Orai--body contact .30a* .37** .I7
Kissing .24* .W* "11
Ad-digkai contact .-3 6 * a .41** .I2
Orai-anal contacr .28** .33** .I?
Orai-genitai contac: - .a -3 7 - "04
Anal intercourse with condom .i3 .21* -G
. L7
A n d intercourse ~ ' i i h ~ condam
ut .&~, g * * .15 .05
* p < .05. **p < .Ot. Two-tailed less.

sensation seeking scale demonstrated the strongest correiation w r h i.ann~ber

of unprotected anal intercourse occasions and the number of unprotected
anat intercourse partners over the past h a n t h s among the measures admin-
istered. The sexual sensatmn seeking scak also correlated with alcohol use,
sexozI self-control. sevud compuIsivitp, and nonsexual exgenerace seekmg
in the expected directions. The r,onsextraI experience seeking and sexual
compulsivity scaies were also inversely correlated with sexual self-control,
as weil as being correlated wlih each other. In addition, the sexual compul-
sivitp scale significantly correlated with scores on the LKLA loneliness
scare and carrelated negativelq with self-esteem
Correlations bemeen the three scales debeioged rn this saudq and the
perceived pleasure of nine sexual acts of varying levels of rrsk for HIV
infection shavi.ed that the sexual sensatieri seeking and nonsexuai experience
seeking scares both signlficancly correlated with pleasure racngs of se\waI
sexual activities thzt vary in degrees of EIIV risk (see T&te 5 ) . Although
both sexual sensation seeking and nonsexual experience s e e k q correlated
with several act:irities, onl) sexual sensation seekrng scores were signif:-
cantly related to ratings of perceived pleasure o f hawng anat intercourse
without usrng condoms, the s e x d practice s f greatest concern for EEIW risk
among gay men Scores on the sexual compt~lsivnt~ scaie were ilnrerated lo
pleasure ratings of specifjc sexmi acts.

Discriminant Validity

To evaluate the v a h e of each scale In predictkg high-risk behavior, we

divided partrcipants into two gror;ps defined by heir self-reported sexual
behavior. Men who reported any occurrence of anal intercourse withour
 TABLE E
Scale Meals 631 and B ~ s c r ~ r r w nzunct~a?
t : ~ Me? E r g a g ~ l c
C o e f f r c ~ e ~tor
(H gh R 2 w anc hot Engagcqg (bower Wiski in Jnarotecteo A l a i Inte'co~rse
tr tCls Pas! 3 Morlt?s

zondorns in [he previous 3 months h e r e grouped as being a: risk for HI\.'

~xrfection i n = 381, and those me:; who reported no su:h actliit> weye
groxped as bemg at lower risk ( n = 521 ,4 steFwlse d ~ s c r r x ~ n n fun:tror.
ct
dnaiys:s was performed between r,sk groups enrerxg as dependen: ~ a r r a b l e s
\cores on [he ~ e x u a sensatior~
l seeking. n o c x x ~ z experjence
l seeiang. sexual
compuisiirty. sexual self-control, self-esteem. and Ionelmess sc:tles, as ae::
as transf~rrnedvatuei of self-reporred alcohol use and drug use in the past 3
-aonths (see footriote 1 \ znJ parrac~parmtage t%eeTabie 6 ) Entered f m t I E the
d:scrrrn:nan: ana1:src u a s partictpant's seIf-reported ase of nonalcohohc
drugs, W l l k ~ " l~ambdr![ I . : S9! = 903. y < 0: The ~eco:)dfactor en:ereel
*as :he sexual sensation \eehjng scaie, Witks's larrbda :2.1.89! = $ 4 3 , ,p <
81 Pnrt:apmr use ct a i a t r o i en:ered :he anal5s:s r h r d . L?'tILs's fnmbJa
(3.1 S9 i = 862, p < Q l , no o : h e ~iarmbles were entered !nto che ctic,rn.n,ict
f~i'ictmnMen i n the h;gh-nsk group were mere LLeI? tt, h z \ e u w d drugs i n
he p3qi 3 months. R e r e higher 13 sexual scnsztnm seeking, 2nd repoxsc
more u w ~f a i ~ o l o l19: the past 3 mlarithb Thus :he i,nal Jl,acr.m:ndr,t
f u n ~ t ~ au nas s~gnif,:ant, x-t
3, 2 = 91 : = 11, 9, p < rt.

% k e n cases i v e E omitted fmn; the. ar,a!ysls due tc. m s s u ~ gd m on a~!. one of the i e ~ n d e rnxasunis
,
394 KALECMMAN ET AL.

Tests tor Artifacts

Analyses were conducted to evaluate potentiat confotrnds in the previous

analyses First, because the sexual sensation seeking scale included one item
specrficallq related to unprotected anal intercourse. '2 have felt curious
about having anal intercourse without a condom," analyses relating the scale
to this behavior may have been confounded. Thus, aII anaByses were recon-
ducted using an eight-item version of the scale with that item removed.
Resuits showed that the scale was internally consistent (alpha = 251 and
correlated with engaging En unprotected anal intercourse ( r = 30, p c .051
and number of unprotected anal intercourse partners (t.= .34. p <. ,811. En
addition, a repeated d;scnminarat analysis between sexual risk groups with
the eight-rtem scde showed that drug use entered the function first, followed
by sexual sensation seeking, demonstrating no difference between anajyses.
Second, because sexual sensation seeking cm7ar:eswnth substance use and
participant age. we examined the relatzonship between sexual sensatior,
seeking and risky sexual behavior controlling for these other variables. The
partla1 correlation between sexual sensation seeking and number of unpro-

-
tected anal intercourse occasions in the past 3 months. controlling for aEco-
ho4 and drug use. was significant /4-, 2 1 . p < .05'1, contributing 4.59 of the
explained variance In sexual behavior over and above substance use. Sirni-
&arIy,the partial correlation between sexual sensation seeking and unpro-
tected anaI intercourse, controlling for age. was significant Ex, = .32. p c
.O!;B, with sexual sensation seeking contrib:rting an additional 10.5% of the
variance in sexual risk over and above participant age.
Finally. three analyses of covariance were conducted to test for differ-
ences on ihe sexuai sensation seeking scale between near who had engaged
in unprotected anal intercourse in the past 3 months and those men who had
not, while controEIing for potential confounds. Results showed that groups
differed when controlling for akohol use, P(I,95) = 4.91, p < "05;drug use,
F41,96) = 3.97. p < .05: and age. F( '(1,98j= 7.99. p < .Oi.Thus, although
sexual sensation seeking, substance use. and age covary, sexual sensation
seeking expiains a significant proportion of unique bariance in risky sexual
behavior.

DISCUSSION

The measures of sexual sensation seeking and nonsexual experience seeking

presented in this study were shown to be- internally consistent. time-stable,
and demonstrated evidence of convergent, djvergent. and discriminant valid-
ity. Atthough it was developed with hornosexually active men. the item
content was not specificaIiy tailored fox gay men. However, because this
study only investigated scale ps)chometric properties in a sampbe of gay
men, sexuai orientation and gender differences on the scales should be
expected until oiherwise demonstrated. Thus, although our mew measures do
 SEXCAL SENSATIOI'; SEEKING 4 N D HI\' RISK 395

not replace the multidimensional Sensatjon Seeking Scale (Zuckerman et al .

1078;, the? do represent an addrtmnal dtmensaon specifically related ~o
sexual risk-taking behat lor
Sensatncan ~ e e k l n gspec:fjc to sexual behavior h a s the oni> psqchornetric
scale in the study that was consistentlj linked to d i ~ e r g e n tmeasures of
high-risk sexual practices, and the association between sexual sensatron
seeking and sexual risk taking couIa not be accounted for by substance use
OP parilclpanf age These results are consrstent nrth pre\ lous research show-
ing a relationshrp between g e r c e i ~ed re:nforcernent value and the tendencb
to engege in high-nsk sexual practices i K e I l ~ .St Lawrence, & Brasfield.
199i ), suggesting that personaltry dlspositmns ma\ play an important role In
attraction tonard high-rrsk sexual acts Hobever. vie did not find a relation-
dup between nonsexuaI experience seeking and sexual r;sk behsk ior. farl:ng
ro rephcate Frsher and Mtsovlch's i1990) findings It is therefore possible
that the alcohol and drug use items on the Zuckerman Sensmon Seekrng
Scale may ha\e accounted for the associations betueen censatron seek~ng
and risky sex o b s e r ~ed bv Fisher and M ~ s o v ~ c h
The pattern of correIarions obsert ed for the measure of sexual compulsr\ -
ity also supports its construct vahdity The relationships betueen: the sexual
c o r n p u h c i t j scale and Inneliness. self-esteem, and sexuai self-control are
consisten: with chnical and theoretical descrrptlans of persons with sexual
addictnon9 (Carries, 1991) In thrs stud\. th:s s c d e dlc! not demonstrate
significant associations utrh h g h - r ~ s ksexual behav~orseither In behavlorai
frequencq or rn p e r c e i ~ e dpleasure Sexual rlsk t a k ~ n gi i therefore s p e c ~ f l c -
id13 related to the use of psychoactrve substances and an i n d n ~ d u a l ' spropen-
sity to take rrsks. Future research is needed to examine the interactlye effects
of personalit? diqmsitions. substance use, and risk) sexuai behabror.
This srildq had several lirn~tations.Frrsr. although the gartrc:pants b e r e
hnghly relevant to our stud> questions, further research with additional
samples. partrculxij uornen and heterosexuais. rs needed ro evaluate the
internal scale characteristics and to replicate the obsenec! rehtronships
betueen scales and external correlates The stud1 was also lmlted Iry its
reliance on self-reported substance use and sexual behavicr. although prior
research using similar risk behabior measures has s h o ~ nthese self-reports
reliable lKauth et al.. 1991) Finall!. rt may be necessarj :o eiaruate the item
content of the sexual sensatjon seeking scale with reference to local comrnu-
nity norms given the diversrt) of ga) and heterosexua! conmunities and
hecause Ecerns were refrned through drscuss~onswith ga) men in one citl
There are sekeral potentla! uses of the sexual sensation seekkg scale In
future research Et is like!) that persons who report a stronger affrnit? for
hrgh-risk sexual ptac:nces M ith muItiyle partners will find beha1 ior change
inore diff,cult and w i l l hale greater difficult) rna~ntainrngr:sk reduction
changes. Whereas situational variables, such as substance use. pariner char-
acteristlc5, and lack of sexual communication skills have been identified as
s rnstituting safer sexual practlces iKe1lq. Kahchman. et al .
~ n h ~ b r t o rro
199E; Kelly, St. Lawrence, & Brasfield. 1991: McCusker et aI., I9901,
sensation seekrng in general. and sexmi sensation s e e k i ~ gin particular,
appears to constitute a personality disposition that Enreracts with external
variables related to risk for HIV mfectian. Thus far. personological media-
tors to HTV risk behavior have received little attention in risk prediction
models. This study identified sexual sensation seeking as one suck personal-
ity dispasitiore related to sexual risk for AIDS Further research is needed to
test rhe rn~dependentand interactive effects of other personality dispositions
and sexual risk taking.
Finally, these f i ~ d i n g shave ~mplicationsfor the development of
HIV/AIDS p r e v e d o n interventions Ahheugh risk reduction and skills
training principles ate ernphasrzed in most HkV risk reduction Interventton
approaches, persons with strong sexual sensation seeking dispositions who
continue to engage in high-risk beha~iorpractices may benefit from inter-
vention techniques that increase the perceiked noveiiry, sensations. and erot-
icism of safer activities, as neil as csgnitive approaches that attribute
increased posit~venavel sensations to behavior changes ~ncludingcondom
rrse Because persons high rn sexual sensation seeking also had higher nun-
bers of different sexual, partners, these individua'rs may gotentiatly benefit
from prevention approaches that teach sexual communication skr2ks to nego-
tiate safer behaviors with their partners. Elements that address sensation
seeking dspositions ma) theredisre enhance the effects of HTV behawor
change rnterverations

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This study was supported by Grant #ROE MI348286 awarded by the Ie'ationai
of Menrzi Health to Jeffrey A. KeIIy.
I~est~tnte

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