Sensation Seeking-Disinhibition and Alcohol Use: Issues of Criterion Contamination
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1998
Keywords
Alcohol Drinking Patterns, Factor Structure, Inhibition (Personality), Sensation Seeking Scale, Statistical Validity
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.10.1.71
Abstract
Disinhibition has been theorized to increase risk for alcohol abuse. Because a major index of disinhibition, the Disinhibition subscale of the Sensation Seeking Scales (DIS; M. Zuckerman, 1979, 1987), includes items that explicitly ask about alcohol use (see M. Zuckerman, 1994), the nature and extent of predictor-criterion contamination merits investigation. Using structural equation modeling, this study examined the factor structure and predictive validity of the DIS with drinking in 1,217 college students. A 3-factor model best fit the DIS, and prediction of drinking by these factors varied based on their intrinsic levels of alcohol relatedness. Hence, the relationship between alcohol abuse risk and the DIS may require reconsideration. The factor structure of the DIS also varied between light and heavy drinkers; the clinical and psychometric implications of this finding are discussed.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Psychological Assessment, v. 10, issue 1, p. 71-76
Scholar Commons Citation
Darkes, Jack; Greenbaum, Paul E.; and Goldman, Mark S., "Sensation Seeking-Disinhibition and Alcohol Use: Issues of Criterion Contamination" (1998). Psychology Faculty Publications. 1382.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/1382
