Sexual Sensation-Seeking Scale for Adolescents (DiClemente et. al., 2010)
- Populations: African American Adolescents
- Age ranges: 15-21
- Languages: English
- Countries: United States
Items
The scale is conceptually unidimensional. However, some of the individual items may be used as sub-scales.
- I enjoy having sex on the spur of the moment.
- Having sex with a new partner is exciting to me.
- Stopping to use a condom during sex takes the fun out of sex.
- When it comes to sex, I’m willing to try anything.
- I act out sexual scenes from movies/videos.
- I like to try new positions when having sex.
- I enjoy the thrill of having sex in public places.
- I use sex toys to make sex more exciting.
- I have sex with guys I meet on telephone chat lines or on the Internet.
Responses:
Each item was measured on a 4-point Likert-type response scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree).
Scoring
“All items were coded so that higher values indicated greater endorsement of the sexually adventurous behavior. Scores on the SSSA ranged from 9 to 36” (DiClemente et. al., 2010)
Citations
Ralph DiClemente, Robin R. Milhausen, Laura F. Salazar, Joshua Spitalnick, Jessica McDermott Sales, Richard A. Crosby, Sinead N. Younge & Gina M. Wingood (2010) Development of the Sexual Sensation-Seeking Scale for African American Adolescent Women, International Journal of Sexual Health, 22:4, 248-261, DOI: 10.1080/19317611.2010.491388
Scoring breakdown
Measure development
- Significant design input from young people
- Cognitive interviews with young people
- Expert input
Validity
- Unknown: Face validity
- Green: Convergent validity
- Green: Construct validity
Reliability
- Green: Internal consistency
- Green: Test-retest
Ease of use
- Green: Readability
Definitions
Face validity: How well a measure appears to represent the construct it is supposed to be measuring.
Convergent validity: How well a measure correlates with other hypothetically-related measures.
Construct validity: The extent to which a measure reflects the construct it was designed to evaluate.
Internal consistency: The extent to which items in a scale capture aspects of the same construct.
Test-retest: The degree to which measurement scores are consistent over a short period of time (usually 2 weeks).
Readability: The ease with which a reader can understand the questionnaire items.
Key
- Green: Meets validation criteria
- Red: Does not meet validation criteria
- Unknown: Evidence not available
