title: Trajectories of Sensation Seeking Among Puerto Rican Children and Youth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To document the natural course of sensation seeking from childhood to adolescence, characterize distinct sensation seeking trajectories, and examine how these trajectories vary according to selected predictors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were obtained from the Boricua Youth Study, a longitudinal study of 2,491 children and adolescents of Puerto Rican background (3 assessments from 2000 to 2004). First, age-specific sensation seeking levels were characterized, and then age-adjusted residuals were analyzed using growth mixture models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On average, sensation seeking was stable in childhood (ages 5-10 years) and increased during adolescence (ages 11-17 years). Mean scores of sensation seeking were higher in the South Bronx versus Puerto Rico and among males versus females. Four classes of sensation seeking trajectories were observed: most study participants had age-expected sensation seeking trajectories following the average for their age ("normative," 43.8%); others (37.2%) remained consistently lower than the expected average for their age ("low" sensation seeking); some (12.0%) had an "accelerated" sensation seeking trajectory, increasing at a faster rate than expected; and a minority (7.0%) had a decreasing sensation seeking trajectory that started high but decreased, reaching scores slightly higher than the age-average sensation seeking scores ("stabilizers"). Site (South Bronx versus Puerto Rico) and gender were predictors of membership in a specific class of sensation seeking trajectory.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is important to take a developmental approach when examining sensation seeking and to consider gender and the social environment when trying to understand how sensation seeking evolves during childhood and adolescence.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York. Electronic address: ssm2183@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Silvia S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York.
authors.forename: Melanie M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Wall
authors.affiliation: Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eisenberg
authors.affiliation: Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York.
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santaella
authors.affiliation: Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramos-Olazagasti
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Sciences Research Institute, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan.
authors.forename: Glorisa
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Canino
authors.affiliation: Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York.
authors.forename: Hector R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Bird
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York.
authors.forename: Qiana
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York.
authors.forename: Cristiane S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Duarte
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups; D009519:New York City; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000208:ethnology; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012677:Sensation
keywords: Puerto Rico; sensation seeking; trajectories