| Sensation seeking (SS) is a personality trait. Illuminated by sensation deprivation experiments, Zuckerman advanced this conception. Its theoretical foundation is the optimal level of stimulated and aroused states. Sensation seeking is a trait defined by "the seeking of varied, novel, complex, and intense sensation and experiences, and the willingness to take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experience". The tool used to measure this trait is sensation seeking scale(SSS). Cultural background can influence sensation seeking. Lack of effective metrical tool made the study on sensation seeking progress slowly in our country.This research included two sections. One is to workout Sensation Seeking Scale for Chinese undergraduate, and to explore the character of undergraduate synchronously. The other is to explore the relation ship between sensation seeking and mental health in undergraduates using the new Sensation Seeking Scale for Chinese undergraduate.The results of our first section showed that: 1. Sensation Seeking Scale for Chinese undergraduate was composed by two factors: Thrill and adventure seeking (TAS) and Disinhibition (Dis). The tool has well reliability and validity, and it has achieved the psychometric criterion. 2.The sensation seeking traits of Chinese undergraduates are the same as those of foreigners on the whole. The sensation seeking scores of boys are higher than those of girls. The level of sensation seeking in undergraduate increases with ages, but the increasing gets slowly. And the level of sensation seeking is influenced by diversified social background factors.The results of the second section suggested that: Scores on subscales of sensation seeking in undergraduates correlated with those on mental health. But no evidence showed correlation between total sensation seeking and mental health. Sensation seeking usually influences mental health of undergraduates by differences of means those individual took to satisfy the need of stimulator. |
