Sensation seeking in the community: Sex, age and sociodemographic comparisons on a representative German population sample

Our current knowledge regarding age and sex differences in sensation seeking is based on studies, which all use the SSS-V. The aim of the present study therefore was to validate the results reported by Zuckerman, Eysenck, and Eysenck (1978) while applying an alternative instrument. We also examined the relevance of sociodemographic factors in sensation seeking. German data were collected from 1949 subjects (47% female; aged 16–79 years) constituting a representative population sample of Germany. Sensation Seeking was measured using the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS), which consists of two subscales: Novelty and Intensity constituting a Total Score. The results clearly confirm the postulated age and sex differences. Significant age declines occurred on all three scales for both sexes. Males generally scored higher than females in all age groups. The age and sex differences are independent of sociodemographic factors. On the whole, sociodemographic factors explain only a small part of the variance in sensation seeking.