Using sensation seeking to target adolescents for substance use interventions

Area of Science:

• Adolescent health
• Substance use prevention
• Psychological predictors

Background:

• Adolescent substance use remains a significant public health concern.
• Optimizing prevention programs requires accurate identification of at-risk individuals.
• Sensation seeking is a personality trait potentially linked to adolescent risk-taking behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the predictive validity of sensation seeking for adolescent substance use.
• To inform the targeting strategies for substance use prevention initiatives.
• To determine optimal cut-off points for sensation seeking to identify at-risk youth.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal study involving 6522 US adolescents (aged 10-14 at baseline).
• Data collected via random-digit dial telephone surveys over three follow-up waves.
• Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics curves (AROC) used to assess predictive validity for binge drinking and smoking onset.

Main Results:

• Sensation seeking moderately predicted binge drinking onset (AROC = 0.71).
• Sensation seeking was a stronger predictor of established smoking onset (AROC = 0.80).
• Predictive validity varied by ethnicity, being lower for binge drinking in Black adolescents and higher for smoking in Hispanic adolescents.

Conclusions:

• Sensation seeking is a moderately effective tool for identifying adolescents at risk for initiating binge drinking and smoking.
• The findings support the use of sensation seeking in targeted prevention efforts.
• This study provides a framework for selecting appropriate targeting thresholds considering intervention efficacy, costs, and risks.