Abstract:
This study performed a aecondvy dau analysis of information collected during
the Youth Leisure Study (YLS). The purpose of this study was to examine the potential
moderating influences of gender and general self-efTicacy on the relationships aoKXig
sensation-seeking and various forms of substance use in adolescents. Specifically, the
predictive ability of sensation seeking on five adolescents substance use outcomes
(alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use; binge drinking; and number of times drunk) was
examined.
Moderated hierarchical multiple regression (MHMR) analyses were used to
examine the relationships among study variables. The results for this study indicate that
the relationships among sensation-seeking and forms of adolescent substance use are
more complex than literature suggests. Main effect relationships were found consistently
for sensation-seeking and general self-efficacy with each of the outcome variables.
Results for gender were not consistent across the substance use outcomes. Gender was a
significant predictor for marijuana use only.
The moderating effects of general self-efficacy (GSE) on the sensation-seekingsubstance
use relationship were inconsistent. While no significant interactions were
found for tobacco or alcohol use outcomes, GSE was found to moderate the relationship
between sensation-seeking and marijuana use indicating that feelings of high general selfefficacy
act as a buffer or guard against marijuana use.
A consistent pattern was found among the alcohol use variables (alcohol use.
binge drinking, and number of times drunk). Gender was found to moderate each of
these variables indicating that higher levels of sensation seeking are more predictive of
higher levels of adolescent alcohol use in males only.
Implications of this study on the field of education, are discussed further, and
suggestions for future research are presented.
