Sensation seeking in portuguese skydivers

The aim of this study was to find out about the sensation-seeking trait in skydiving practitioners in Portugal and to check if there are differences according to the variables of sex, level of experience and age group. One hundred and fourteen parachutists participated in the study. For data collection we used the Sensation Seeking Scale-V (SSS-V) questionnaire. In statistical terms, tests of assumption of criteria were performed for the definition of hypothesis contrast models. The non parametric Mann-Whitney U test, the parametric Student's t test, and the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare the variables with the sensation seeking feature. We found that the level of intensity of the sensation-seeking trait in the majority of parachutists showed medium or high values. As for the search for sensations and their dimensions, taking into account the variables under study, significant differences were only found for disinhibition and only regarding age group, with the youngest recording higher mean values compared to the older subjects. It can be said that the parachutists who took part in this study proved to be a homogeneous group with personality characteristics in search of adventure, emotion and very similar experience.