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Abstract:
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The leading cause of death for 15 -20 year olds in the United States is unintentional injury . For this population , these injuries are often caused by motor vehicle accidents , alcohol and /or drug use , or a combination thereof . Sensation seeking is an internal drive to seek exciting and novel experiences . Congruous with normative developmental processes , adolescents are more likely to have a higher psycho -physiological drive towards sensation seeking than are younger children or adults . High sensation seeking is one of the risk factors for alcohol , tobacco , and other drug (ATOD ) use . Other risk factors include : lack of adult -supervised time , high negative affect , and favorable attitudes and subjective norms regarding ATOD use . Sport participation addresses many of these risk factors . Sport and extracurricular activity participation have been examined in relation to ATOD use . However , the relationship between sport and ATOD use remains somewhat equivocal . This study aimed to determine the direction of the relationship between sport participation and ATOD use , and to elucidate putative , psychosocial mediators and moderators . Students in health classes (n=239 , average age 16 .06 ) ) from three high schools in one suburban , Central Texas school district were given an anonymous survey regarding ATOD use , extracurricular activities , affect , attitudes , sensation seeking , social support , and subjective norms . Regression , ANOVA , and path analysis were the statistical methods employed . Consistent with previous research , favorable attitudes and subjective norms towards ATODs had a strong , positive effect on ATOD use . Sport participation was examined as moderator in the relationship between sensation seeking and ATOD use . An interaction between sport and ATOD use with sensation seeking was supported by the data . However , mean sensation seeking on the Arnett Sensation Seeking Scale was low for this sample , compared with that of other adolescent samples . Mean ATOD use was lower for sport participants compared with all other students , but not compared with extracurricular activity participants . |