Sensation seeking as a common factor in opioid dependent subjects and high risk sport practicing subjects. A cross sectional study☆
Introduction
Human drug abuse activity is a complex phenomenon that is not yet fully understood. So-called sensation seeking (SS) behavior, as described by Zuckerman (1994), may provide a model for a better understanding of this behavior and how it may relate to other behaviors. Zuckerman (1994) proposed that SS ‘is a trait defined by the seeking of varied, novel, complex and intense sensations and experiences and the willingness to take physical, social, legal and financial risks for the sake of such experience’. He also proposed that SS, like other human behavior is determined by multiple factors. Consequently, one could study the biological and genetic basis for SS as well as the ways by which environmental factors determine the expression of the trait. This type of model may help us to organize and conduct research that leads to an understanding of why some people seek thrill and adventure through socially accepted sports activities, whereas, other people are driven to disinhibitory forms of SS such as drug use. This kind of temperamental model has broadened the research on the psychopathology of vulnerability to substance abuse towards other forms of addictive behaviors and the possible normal expression of this trait.
Some sports activities may provide a method by which sensation seekers satisfy their appetite for excitement (for review see: Zuckerman, 1983, Zuckerman, 1994). They are particularly interested in activities that have risk and provide unusual sensations associated with speed or defiance of gravity, such as parachuting, hang gliding, auto racing, scuba diving, and mountain climbing (Gundersheim, 1987). Conversely, sensation seekers are not interested in low risk and low excitement activities such as marathon running (Potgieter and Bisschoff, 1990). Several research studies have examined the practitioners of high-risk sports (Fowler et al., 1980, Freixanet, 1991, Michel et al., 1997, Rowland et al., 1986). Overall, the results of these studies show that athletes participating in high-risk sports have significantly higher scores on the Zuckerman scale than do similar athletes, who practice low risk sports.
A number of researchers have reported that there is a strong relationship in humans between SS behavior and drug use and abuse (Andrucci et al., 1989, Jaffe and Archer, 1987, Pedersen et al., 1989, Ratliff and Burkhart, 1984, Schwartz et al., 1982, Von Knorring et al., 1987). SS has been shown to be a more powerful predictor of initial drug use and abuse across drug categories than other measures of personality and psychopathology. SS was found to stand out as a significant factor in multiple use and abuse. However, except for alcohol dependent subjects where SS would be an important component in alcoholism typologies (Babor et al., 1992, Cadoret et al., 1995, Cloninger et al., 1981), very few studies have reported on SS in drug dependent individuals.
Hence, the SS trait could lead to different behaviors. We posed the following question, ‘Do drug dependent subjects and high risk sports practicing subjects express different forms of a general tendency to seek intense and abrupt sensations through various behaviors?’ We designed and conducted a clinical study to address this question. To our knowledge, this study is the first to study simultaneously SS in two such groups of individuals in comparison with controls. More specifically, the study was designed to test the following hypotheses:
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opioid dependent subjects (ODS) and paragliders will score higher on the Zuckerman sensation seeking scale (SSS) than will a group of matched control subjects;
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the differences between the three groups will not be restricted to the subscales related to either risks and sports related (the Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS)) for Regular Paragliders (RP) or substance related (Dishinibition (Dis) scale) for ODS, in an attempt to control for the consequences of each of these activities on the expression of SS.
Section snippets
Subjects
This study was approved by the Subjects Ethics Committee in Biomedical Research. Each subject gave his or her informed consent prior to participation. Participants in this trial came from three different groups: drug dependent persons, paragliders and normals. ODS were recruited from a group of consecutively admitted patients into a Substance Abuse Treatment Program, prior treatment initiation. Each ODS was diagnosed according to criteria of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
Results
One hundred and fifty six subjects completed the questionnaire and of these, 102 subjects (34 per group), matched for gender and age, were analyzed.
Between March 1997 and August 1998 a total of 50 opioid dependent patients were enrolled into the Substance Abuse Treatment Program. Forty-four patients (88%) agreed to participate in the study and of these, ten could not be matched for gender and age with participants from the other two groups. Non reported practicing high risk sports.
Of the 65
Discussion
To our knowledge, this is the first study to measure SS in risky sports practicing subjects and ODS in comparison with controls, using the same schedule, in the same geographical environment and within the same time frame. This is a cross sectional assessment of three groups of individuals matched for age and sex. As hypothesized, both the ODS and the RP were more sensation seekers than controls. They differed from controls on the same two subscales: the TAS and Disinhibition scales and in
Acknowledgements
Supported by grants MESR-94V 0269 to M. Auriacombe and PHRC-1994 to J. Tignol.
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Partial data from this study have been presented at the 61st Annual Scientific Meeting, College on Problems of Drug Dependence, 1999, Acapulco, Mexico (Piquemal, E., Franques, P., Auriacombe, M., Grabot, D., Tignol, J. Sensation seeking as a common factor in opioid dependent subjects and high risk sport practicing subjects).