THE ROLE OF SENSATION SEEKING IN SUBSTANCE USE AND SPORTING AMONG FEMALE TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE STUDENTS
THE ROLE OF SENSATION SEEKING IN SUBSTANCE USE AND SPORTING AMONG FEMALE TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE STUDENTS

Summary/Abstract: Sensation seeking is a personality trait characterized by the need for novelty, adventure, and a generalwillingness to take risks. Young adults are more likely to seek sensations in high-risk situ -ations, such as shared substance use among friends, risky sexual behavior, or sports. We know evenless about any link between behaviors that are not necessarily risky (e.g., hobby sporting, occasionaldrinking, etc.) and gender characteristics. This paper explored the role of different dimensionsof sensation seeking in female college students’ health behavior, including smoking, drinking,and active sporting. The sample consisted of female teachers training college students fromDebrecen, Hungary (N = 171; mean age = 20.6, S.D. = 2.6 years). Binary logistic regression ana -lyses revealed that the total score on the sensation seeking scale (BSSS-8) was related to all typesof health behavior. Disinhibition (D) contributed to smoking and drinking, while other dimensionswere also related to smoking. In addition, in active sporting Experience Seeking (ES) played a role.Focus on different dimensions of sensation seeking can be applied in health education programs,particularly for students (teacher training) whose health behavior may serve as an exemplar forchildren. As multiple analyses suggest, sport motivation can be elevated through satisfying thefemale students’ experience seeking, while skills training in disinhibition may help to reduce theirsubstance use.

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