Sensation seeking and psychological reactance as health risk predictors for an emerging adult population

Two personality traits, sensation seeking (SS) and psychological reactance (PR), were examined as predictors of health risk behaviors within an emerging adult population. Results using items from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) survey developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate both personality traits are predictive of risky substance use behaviors, but only PR was found to be predictive of risky sexual activity. Furthermore, a significant interaction involving PR and sex emerged concerning alcohol use. Results emphasize the importance of considering SS and PR as critical personality variables when designing and evaluating health risk messages and campaigns targeting adolescent and emerging adult populations.