Brief Sensation Seeking Scale: Latent structure of 8-item and 4-item versions in Peruvian adolescents

This research intended to validate two brief scales of sensations seeking with Peruvian adolescents: the eight item scale (BSSS8, Hoyle, Stephenson, Palmgreen, Lorch, and Donohew, 2002) and the four item scale (BSSS4, Stephenson, Hoyle, Slater, and Palmgreen, 2003). Questionnaires were administered to 618 voluntary participants, with an average age of 13.6 years, from different levels of high school, state and private school in a district in the south of Lima. It analyzed the internal structure of both short versions using three models: a) unidimensional (M1), b) oblique or related dimensions (M2), and c) the bifactor model (M3). Results show that both instruments have a single dimension which best represents the variability of the items, a fact that can be explained both by the complexity of the concept and by the small number of items representing each factor, which is more noticeable in the BSSS4. Reliability is within levels found by previous studies: alpha:.745 = BSSS8 and BSSS4 =. 643, omega coefficient:.747 in BSSS8 and.651 in BSSS4. These are considered suitable for the type of instruments studied. Based on the correlation between the two instruments, it was found that there are satisfactory levels of equivalence between the BSSS8 and BSSS4. However, it is recommended that the BSSS4 is mainly used for research and for the purpose of describing populations.