Sensation seeking, exposure to psychosocial stressors, and body modifications in a college population

A sample of 281 (females=160) college students with body modifications completed a demographics questionnaire, questions about body modification practices, the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS-V; Zuckerman, 1994), the Impulsivity subscale of the Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ; Zuckerman, Kuhlman, Joireman, Teta, & Kraft, 1993), and a selected portion of the History of Psychosocial Stressors (HPS; Scotti, 1992, 1999). Gender differences were found on the number of body modifications and when they were first obtained. In general, males with tattoos and piercings had higher scores than females on subscales of the SSS-V. Females with piercings and tattoos had higher scores on the Impulsive Sensation Seeking subscale of the ZKPQ. No gender differences were found when participants were asked if he/she would obtain another body modification or if his/her friends had a body modification. Gender and sensation seeking preference were predictive of number of tattoos but not number of piercings. Exposure with psychosocial stressors was predictive of number of piercings but not number of tattoos. These results suggest that sensation seeking preferences and exposure to a psychosocial stressor may be associated with obtaining a body modification in some college students.