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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Jun 29;19(13):7978.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19137978.

Brief Sensations Seeking Scale (BSSS): Validity Evidence in Mexican Adolescents

César Merino-Soto  1 , Edwin Salas-Blas  1 , Berenice Pérez-Amezcua  2 , Javier García-Rivas  3 , Omar Israel González Peña  4 , Filiberto Toledano-Toledano  5   6
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Brief Sensations Seeking Scale (BSSS): Validity Evidence in Mexican Adolescents

César Merino-Soto et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Sensation seeking is a construct associated with risky behaviors over a wide age range, but validation studies in Mexico are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity of two versions of the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (the BSSS-8 and BSSS-4) in young Mexican individuals. The sample consisted of 2884 students (age: M = 16.6, SD = 1.5) from five preparatory schools in Morelos, Mexico. The internal structure of the BSSS was evaluated according to the structural equation modeling (SEM) parameterization, including measurement invariance (compared to the factor loadings obtained in the meta-analysis); conditional reliability; and equivalence between versions. The unidimensionality and measurement invariance (configurational, factor loadings, thresholds, intercepts, and residuals) across sex and age groups were satisfactory, and the factor loadings were highly congruent with those obtained in the meta-analysis. Reliability was suitably high (greater than 0.80), especially near the mean scores, but was lower for extreme scores. Thus, the instrument was concluded to be optimal for defining the construct of sensation seeking, consistent with the findings of previous studies.

Keywords: measurement invariance; meta-analysis; risk behaviors; sensation seeking; validation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bland–Altman plot of the z scores and raw scores of the BSSS8 and BSSS4. Z(BSSS8): Z score of the observed raw score on the BSSS-8. Z(BSSS4): Z score of observed raw score on the BSSS-4.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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