Mental health, sensation seeking and drug use patterns: a longitudinal study

To examine the longitudinal stability of mental health and sensation seeking, a sample of 553 adolescents aged 16-18 years, was followed over a period of 20 months. Further, the predictive power of the two constructs with regard to future drug use was investigated. The stability of reported mental health was relatively low. Accordingly, the variable was a poor predictor of future drug use. Sensation seeking, however, had a relatively high degree of stability. In addition, the different subdimensions of the trait were strong predictors of future drug use: 'Disinhibition' (DIS) was a general drug use factor in both sexes. 'Thrill and adventure seeking' (TAS) predicted moderate alcohol consumption in boys. 'Experience seeking' (ES) predicted cannabis use in boys. A separate analysis of those who seek a milieu highly exposed to cannabis, without themselves using the substance, revealed interesting sex differences: the boys in this situation had sensation seeking scores and mental health which were not different from other adolescents. However, the girls had high DIS and ES scores and also poor mental health. Possible interpretations of this finding are discussed.