ABSTRACT
The Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale assesses the dispositional need for varied, novel, and complex sexual experiences and the willingness to take personal physical and social risks for the sake of enhancing sexual sensations. Sexual sensation seeking is therefore a behaviorally specified derivative of the personality disposition sensation seeking, which in turn is derived from the trait known as extraversion (Zuckerman, 1994). Sexual sensation seeking is behaviorally defined as a dimension of sensation seeking and should not be considered an alternative or replacement for the sensation-seeking construct. The item content of the Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale is sex-specific and does not confound substance use or other conceptual factors with sexual risk taking. The Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale was designed as a psychometric assessment of sexual adventurism or sexual risk taking in adolescents and adults. The scale has been used primarily in research with adults on their risks for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
