Elsevier

Addictive Behaviors

Volume 32, Issue 10, October 2007, Pages 2046-2061
Addictive Behaviors

Differentiating between sensation seeking and impulsivity through their mediated relations with alcohol use and problems

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2007.01.015Get rights and content

Abstract

Disinhibition is a strong correlate of alcohol use, yet limited alcohol research has examined the facets of this personality construct. Recent work suggests that sensation seeking and impulsivity show differential relations with alcohol outcomes, indicating unique mechanisms of risks associated with each of these dimensions of disinhibition. The goal of the study was to examine sensation seeking and impulsivity as unique predictors of alcohol use and problems, and to test a broad range of drinking motives as potential mediators of these relations. Self-reported data from college students (N = 310) were utilized for the study. Results suggested that sensation seeking and impulsivity were associated with alcohol use and problems through different mediational pathways. There was some evidence for gender moderating these pathways.

The findings indicate that alcohol prevention and intervention programs should be tailored to specifically target individuals elevated on impulsivity versus sensation seeking.

Introduction

Alcohol consumption by college students has remained consistently high over the past 24 years (Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2005) and alcohol-related problems continue to be a major concern (Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, 2005). Understanding the etiological pathways leading to problematic college drinking is crucial for the development of effective preventive interventions. A variety of traits related to disinhibited personality have been shown to be associated with alcohol use and problems among college students (e.g., Andrew and Cronin, 1997, Camatta and Nagoshi, 1995, Galen, 1997, Sher et al., 2000, Zuckerman, 1994). Sensation seeking and impulsivity are among the most stable and strong personality correlates of alcohol involvement in this population (e.g., Camatta and Nagoshi, 1995, Earleywine and Finn, 1991, Hutchinson et al., 1998, La-Grange et al., 1995, McMillen et al., 1992, Nagoshi, 1999). As discussed below, there are important measurement issues with respect to the assessment of sensation seeking and impulsivity that have largely been ignored in studies of alcohol use. The goal of the present study is to test mediational mechanisms by which sensation seeking and impulsivity are related to alcohol outcomes while using refined measures to reduce the overlap among items that assess these personality traits.

A number of researchers have proposed that sensation seeking and impulsivity are complex and multidimensional traits (Arnett, 1994, Dickman, 1993, Whiteside and Lynam, 2001, Zuckerman, 1979). Sensation seeking has been defined as a strong need for varied, novel, and stimulated experiences, and willingness to take risks for the sake of such experiences (Zuckerman, 1979). Impulsivity, on the other hand, can be conceptualized as a lack of reflectiveness and planning, rapid decision-making and action, and carelessness (Schalling, 1978). Sensation seeking and impulsivity are related, leading some researchers to combine them into a single construct (e.g., Zuckerman, 1996). Others consider sensation seeking and impulsivity to be separate traits (e.g., Schalling, 1978). To examine whether sensation seeking and impulsivity represent unique constructs or are better conceptualized as facets of a general behavioral disinhibition trait, MacLean and Magid (submitted for publication) performed a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of six measures that represented either sensation seeking or impulsivity. A two-factor CFA model fit the data significantly better than a one-factor combined model, suggesting that sensation seeking and impulsivity appear to represent unique traits.

Although distinct from one another, sensation seeking and impulsivity are moderately correlated, which raises some caution when interpreting the relevant alcohol research. First, if one of these traits is included in a model but the other is not, the effects of the non-included variable may be mistakenly attributed to the included trait. Second, most existing measures of sensation seeking and impulsivity reflect the conceptual inconsistencies in the field, such that some measures include items reflecting both traits (even though the measure's label reflects only one; e.g., Eysenck & Eysenck, 1978) and others take a narrower approach and attempt to keep them separate (Schalling, 1978). These conceptual and measurement issues have been evident in the alcohol research that has examined behavioral disinhibition traits as predictors of alcohol involvement. Studies have used measures in which sensation seeking and impulsivity were intentionally combined into one construct (e.g., Read, Wood, Kahler, & Maddock, 2003) or used a measure meant to assess one of the traits but intentionally or inadvertently taps into the other as well (e.g., Nagoshi, 1999, Nagoshi et al., 1991). Such studies potentially confound unique relations between sensation seeking, impulsivity, and alcohol involvement. This is supported by the results of a study of college students that included both sensation seeking and impulsivity using relatively pure, narrow measures (MacLean & Magid, submitted for publication). It was found that sensation seeking and impulsivity were differentially related to alcohol use and alcohol problems in college students, such that the former was a stronger predictor of alcohol use and the latter was a stronger predictor of alcohol-related problems. It may be important to distinguish between sensation seeking and impulsivity when considering etiological pathways to alcohol use and problems because different mechanisms may account for risk associated with these personality dimensions.

The theoretical underpinnings of the different outcomes related to sensation seeking and impulsivity suggest several possible causal mechanisms. The theory of sensation seeking proposed by Zuckerman, 1979, Zuckerman, 1994 states that individuals elevated on sensation seeking have a strong need for varied and intense stimulation. Alcohol often increases positive arousal (Connors & Sobell, 1986), and, in accord with Zuckerman, 1979, Zuckerman, 1994 theory, individuals high on the trait of sensation seeking may consume alcohol until an optimal level of arousal is reached. Impulsivity has been conceptualized in a number of different ways (see Evenden, 1999). A prominent feature of impulsivity, in contrast to sensation seeking, is failure to inhibit a behavior that is likely to result in negative consequences (Baumeister and Heatherton, 1996, Baumeister and Vohs, 2004, Schalling, 1978). Impulsivity may be a particularly impairing trait because when faced with a problem, a person high on the trait of impulsivity may be likely to rely on coping methods that can be quickly implemented and provide short-term relief, regardless of the potential long-term negative consequences (Hull & Slone, 2004). With regard to alcohol use, this suggest that individuals high on impulsivity may be inclined to use alcohol to cope with distress, but this is not necessarily expected for individuals high on sensation seeking.

In order to provide insight into the etiological pathways to alcohol-related problems, it is important to consider not only the distal predictors (i.e., personality), but also proximal predictors. Past findings have suggested that drinking motives play an important proximal role in college drinking and development of drinking-related problems (Cooper, 1994, Cooper et al., 1995, Cox and Klinger, 1988, Read et al., 2003). A few studies have examined mediational models, such that disinhibited personality traits predicted drinking motives, which in turn predicted alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Cooper et al. (1995) found that enhancement motives and alcohol use fully mediated the relationship between sensation seeking and alcohol-related problems in adult and adolescent samples. Cooper et al. (1995), however, did not consider impulsivity as a predictor variable. These results were replicated by Read et al. (2003), who showed that enhancement motives completely mediated the relationship between a combined trait of sensation seeking-impulsivity and alcohol involvement in their cross-sectional sample of college students. It is unclear, however, which aspect of sensation seeking-impulsivity trait accounted for this relationship. Simons, Gaher, Correia, Hansen and Christopher (2005) considered a mediational model with sensation seeking and impulsivity as unique predictors of alcohol use and alcohol problems via enhancement and coping motives. The findings demonstrated that the relation between sensation seeking and alcohol problems was mediated by enhancement motives and alcohol use, whereas the relation between impulsivity and alcohol problems was a direct effect.

However, in line with previous studies, Simons et al. (2005) omitted social and conformity motives from their model. Moreover, even though the mediational model was examined, no formal test of mediation was provided. Finally, none of the above-mentioned studies considered conformity motives, and social motives were included only by Read et al. (2003). This is problematic because enhancement motives are highly correlated with social motives (Cooper, 1994, Read et al., 2003), thus it may be important to include both social and enhancement motives in a model so that their unique effects can be examined. Furthermore, because conformity motives are not expected to be related to sensation seeking or impulsivity, it may be important to include this variable in the model to provide a test of discriminant validity.

Studies that considered mediators of personality risk have not examined gender differences consistently (Simons et al., 2005, Read et al., 2003). However, those studies that did, found gender differences (Cooper et al., 1995, Hussong et al., 2001), suggesting that mechanisms of personality risk may be different for males and females. Given previous findings of gender moderation, it is important to consider gender differences in the context of the proposed mediational pathways in order to detect significant mediated effects that may be present in one group but not the other (Shrout & Bolger, 2002).

Considering the conceptual differences between sensation seeking and impulsivity, it is important to evaluate their impact on alcohol use and problems via different drinking motives. The goal of the current study was to extend the findings of MacLean and Magid (submitted for publication) by investigating the mediational pathways from sensation seeking and impulsivity to alcohol use and problems via four drinking motives (Cooper, 1994; see Fig. 1) using measures that have been empirically demonstrated to discriminate between sensation seeking and impulsivity.

Consistent with the theory of sensation seeking as a drive to increase stimulation and positive emotions (Zuckerman, 1979, Zuckerman, 1994) and as suggested by the past research (Cooper et al., 1995, Simons et al., 2005), sensation seeking was expected to influence alcohol-related problems via enhancement motives and level of alcohol use. Also in line with the Zuckerman, 1979, Zuckerman, 1994 theory, however not tested previously, sensation seeking was expected to impact alcohol-related problems via social motives and level of alcohol use because social interactions can provide positive arousal. Impulsivity was expected to have a direct effect on alcohol-related problems, as poor self-regulation and not considering long term effects of actions when drinking make negative consequences more likely. Also, based on the theory of impulsivity as a failure to regulate one's behavior and a preference for quick action (Baumeister and Heatherton, 1996, Schalling, 1978), individuals elevated on the trait of impulsivity may be prone toward quick and easy ways of coping with everyday distress (e.g., by consuming alcohol), considering immediate rather than long-term effects of a coping method. Therefore, impulsivity was expected to influence alcohol-related problems via coping motives. Coping motives are considered to be more maladaptive than other drinking motives (Cooper et al., 1995, Lecci et al., 2002, Moos et al., 1990), and have been previously found to lead directly to alcohol-related problems regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed (Cooper et al., 1995, Read et al., 2003). Individuals drinking for coping reasons may drink at potentially risky times (e.g., the night before an exam) or in risky places (e.g., in a car), which increases the likelihood of problems independent of levels of alcohol use. Thus, coping motives were expected to lead directly to alcohol problems. Conformity motives were not expected to be related to the traits of sensation seeking and impulsivity. However, consistent with previous research (Cooper, 1994), conformity motives were hypothesized to have a direct relation with alcohol-related problems, but not alcohol use. Mediational pathways were tested using bias-corrected bootstrapped confidence intervals because simulation studies have demonstrated that this method provides the most accurate Type I and Type II error rates (MacKinnon, Lockwood, & Williams, 2004). Finally, given previously found gender differences in similar mediational models, potential gender invariance was tested in the current study. Specifically, in accord with previous findings (Cooper et al., 1995, Hussong et al., 2001), it was hypothesized that enhancement motives would be more strongly related to alcohol use and coping motives would be more strongly related to alcohol-related problems for men than for women.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants were recruited from introductory psychology classes and other social sciences classes in exchange for extra credit. Announcements were made in class inviting students to take part in a research study by coming to the laboratory and filling out paper-and-pencil questionnaires. The sample for the current study was selected from 461 students (66% female, 34% male) participated in the study.1

Analyses

Maximum likelihood estimation in Mplus version 3.12 (Muthén & Muthén, 2004) was used to estimate the models. The fully saturated model (depicted in Fig. 1) was estimated because including direct effects in a mediational model, even if they are expected to be zero, provides a more conservative test of the proposed indirect pathways. A path analysis was implemented instead of a hybrid model with latent variables in order to reduce the number of parameters estimated in the model. The exogenous

Summary of findings and implications

The goal of the present study was to extend recent research (MacLean & Magid, submitted for publication) by differentiating the mechanisms of risk for alcohol involvement associated with sensation seeking and impulsivity. In doing so, the study also served as a partial replication of some previous research (Cooper et al., 1995, Read et al., 2003, Simons et al., 2005) by demonstrating the link between disinhibition personality traits, drinking motives, and alcohol-related outcomes. The present

Acknowledgments

This work was supported, in part, by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (R25 MH61443).

We thank Jennifer Read for her valuable comments on the earlier draft of this manuscript. We also thank David MacKinnon for his advice during the process of data analysis.

References (52)

  • R.F. Baumeister et al.

    Self-regulation failure: An overview

    Psychological Inquiry

    (1996)
  • C.D. Camatta et al.

    Stress, depression, irrational beliefs, and alcohol use and problems in a college student sample

    Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

    (1995)
  • J. Cohen

    Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.)

    (1988)
  • G.J. Connors et al.

    Alcohol and drinking environment: Effects on affect and sensations, person perception, and perceived intoxication

    Cognitive Therapy and Research

    (1986)
  • M.L. Cooper

    Motivations for alcohol use among adolescents: Development and validation of a four-factor model

    Psychological Assessment

    (1994)
  • M.L. Cooper et al.

    Drinking to regulate positive and negative emotions: A motivational model of alcohol use

    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

    (1995)
  • W.M. Cox et al.

    A motivational model of alcohol use

    Journal of Abnormal Psychology

    (1988)
  • S.J. Dickman

    Impulsivity and information processing

  • T.J. Dishion et al.

    Peer ecology of male adolescent drug use

    Development and Psychopathology

    (1995)
  • J.L. Evenden

    Varieties of impulsivity

    Psychopharmacology

    (1999)
  • S.B.G. Eysenck et al.

    Impulsiveness and venturesomeness: Their position in a dimensional system of personality description

    Psychological Reports

    (1978)
  • R. Hingson et al.

    Magnitude of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among US college students ages 18–24: Changes from 1998 to 2001

    Annual Review of Public Health

    (2005)
  • J.G. Hull et al.

    Alcohol and self-regulation

  • A.M. Hussong et al.

    Specifying the relations between affect and heavy alcohol use among young adults

    Journal of Abnormal Psychology

    (2001)
  • G.T. Hutchinson et al.

    Irrational beliefs and behavioral misregulation in the role of alcohol abuse among college students

    Journal of Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

    (1998)
  • L.D. Johnston et al.

    Monitoring the future: National survey results on drug use, 1975–2004

    (2005)
  • Cited by (264)

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text