Introduction

Personality factors such as impulsivity and sensation seeking have been suggested to play a role in both skydiving as well as gambling. The aim of this study was to compare pathological gamblers and skydivers in relation to measures of impulsivity and sensation seeking.

MethodsSamplesThe samples consist of Skydivers (n = 93; 77 men and 16 women, mean age 33.4 years), Pathological gamblers (n = 29; 25 men and 4 women, mean age 32.8 years), and a Control group (n = 43; mean age 39.5 years). Total N = 165.

Instruments

The Eysenck Impulsivity Scale, Narrow Impulsiveness Subscale (EIS-nI) measures pathological impulsivity, consisting of 13 questions regarding the ability to plan, delay and think before acting. The Kuder-Richardson-20 value for the EIS-nI was 0.74.

The Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking (AISS) measure sensation seeking with two subscales: the Need for Novelty and the Need for Stimulus Intensity. The Cronbach’s alpha for the AISS was 0.70, and 0.50 and 0.68 for the two subscales, respectively.

StatisticsA two-way multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to explore differences in impulsivity and sensation seeking between the groups and possible group by gender and group by age interaction effects.

ResultsThe results showed significant main effects of Group, Gender and Age, and a significant Group by Gender interaction effect. No statistically significant differences in impulsivity between pathological gamblers and skydivers were found, however both groups scored higher than the controls. The skydivers scored higher compared to the pathological gamblers and controls on both sensation seeking subscales. Pathological gamblers scored higher than the controls on the subscale Need for Stimulus Intensity, although lower than the controls on the subscale Need for Novelty.

Helga Myrseth, Renate Tverå, Camilla Lindgreen, Susanne Hagatun, & Olav Kjellevold OlsenFaculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway

Discussion

Both pathological gamblers and skydivers scored higher on impulsivity in comparison to the control group, which is in line with previous findings. The high scores on impulsivity could be explained by the fact that both pathological gamblers and skydivers focus more on the immediate situation (e.g. reward) and do not think about the long-term consequences (e.g. possibly harm). Impulsivity and the failure to take long-term consequences into account can be a contributing factor when choosing to engage in these activities.

The skydivers scored highest on both subscales. Of sensation seeking, while the pathological gamblers scored high on the Need for Stimulus Intensity but low on the Need for Novelty.

Higher scores on the Need for Stimulus Intensity may be explained by the fact that skydiving is a potentially more life-threatening activity than gambling; hence skydivers may experience a greater “kick” when performing the activity. As skydiving is a relatively short-lasting activity, while gambling can last for hours, the intensity of skydiving may be higher in comparison to gambling. This time dimension can also possibly explain the differences in Need for Novelty. As skydivers do not usually engage in their risk taking behaviour as often, they may experience a higher sense of novelty and salience each time.

Conclusion

We conclude that skydivers and pathological gamblers do not seem to differ in terms of impulsivity, but that skydivers are characterised by more sensation seeking compared to pathological gamblers. We suggest that as skydiving, as opposed to pathological gambling, is not considered a psychiatric disorder, skydiving may represent a more non-pathological way to fulfil the need for stimulus intensity.

Contact InformationDr. Helga MyrsethDepartment of Psychosocial Science, University of BergenP.B. 7807N-5020 Bergen, Norway

E-mail: Helga.Myrseth@psysp.uib.no

A comparison of Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking in Pathological Gamblers and Skydivers

Table 1. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s product-moment correlations N Mean SD 1 2 3 4 Total sample 1. Age 166 34.99 11.04 - 2. Impulsivity 166 4.64 2.81 -.29* - 3. Need for Novelty 163 28.67 4.96 -.25** .27** - 4. Need for Stimulus Intensity

163 26.12 5.54 -.43** .30** .46** -

PGs 1. Age 29 32.62 10.04 - 2. Impulsivity 29 5.74 3.55 -.03ns - 3. Need for Novelty 29 24.58 3.72 -.17 ns .49** - 4. Need for Stimulus Intensity

29 25.66 4.45 -.34 ns .41* .32 ns -

NPGs 1. Age 44 39.82 12.12 - 2. Impulsivity 44 3.36 2.25 -.13 ns - 3. Need for Novelty 44 26.64 4.02 -.36* .23 ns - 4. Need for Stimulus Intensity

44 21.82 5.26 -.34* .09ns .54** -

Skydivers 1. Age 93 33.44 10.19 - 2. Impulsivity 93 4.90 2.59 -.38* - 3. Need for Novelty 90 30.99 4.43 -.21* .31** - 4. Need for Stimulus Intensity

90 28.38 4.67 -.41** .24* .28** -

Note. * p < .05 (two-tailed); ** p < .01 (two-tailed); ns, non-significant.

Figure 1. Mean levels of Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking