Measuring sensation seeking in urban cyclists: Development and validation of the SSC scale

Abstract

Thanks to various decades of accumulated empirical research, sensation seeking (SS) has gained prominence as an emerging issue of interest in road safety research. Previous studies have emphasized its potential to contribute to risky behavior among various road users, including cyclists. However, there has been a notable gap in the literature: the absence of an instrument designed to measure sensation-seeking factors while considering the particular conditions and behavioral repertoire of cyclists.

Objective

This paper aims to describe the development and psychometric assessment of the Sensation Seeking in Cycling (SSC) scale.

Method

This study analyzed data from 5108 cyclists, aged 16 to 64 (μ = 32.3), who completed an electronic questionnaire on individual and cycling-related factors. Data were analyzed through competitive confirmatory analyses (via Structural Equation Modeling), psychometrically evaluating the structure of the SSC under two different dimensional assumptions.

Results

Data analyses have shown that the Sensation Seeking in Cycling scale has a suitable set of psychometric features, in addition to a satisfactory internal consistency and reliability. Further, the SSC scores have coherent and significant relationships to literature-supported factors, thus providing good insights on the concurrent validity of the questionnaire regardless of cyclists’ sex or age. In addition, descriptive country-based comparisons suggest significant differences in in the SSC scores.

Conclusion

The outcomes of this validation study suggest that the SSC is a valid tool for measuring sensation-seeking factors in the specific setting of urban cycling in the two factorial compositions tested in this paper. Also, it is emphasized the importance of understanding cyclists’ psychosocial factors to enhance safety and promote sustainable urban bicycle riding.