DIFFERENCES IN AND CORRELATES OF SENSATION SEEKING IN MALE AND FEMALE ATHLETES AND NONATHLETES

This study investigated the differences in sensation seeking between male and female varsity and nonvarsity athletes, using the Sensation Seeking Scale VI (SSS, form VI) developed by Zuckerman (1984; Journal of Behavioral Assessment, 6(2), 101-114). This revised form separates reports of past experiences from desired or intended future experiences on both Disinhibition (DIS) and Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS) factors. This study used volunteers (N = 159) from a small, midwestern liberal arts college. Males scored higher than females, regardless of athletic participation, and athletes scored higher than nonathletes, regardless of gender. There were no interactive effects between gender and athletic participation. In another aspect of this study, the relationships between a number of variables and the subscores and total scores were investigated. Age was related to sensation seeking on only one of the subtests. Sensation seeking may be a useful predictor for some of the variables investigated.