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Zuckerman et al. (1978) reported national comparisons and sex and age differences on the total score and the four subscales of the recently constructed Sensation Seeking Scale, Form V (SSS). The samples showed clear sex differences and a strong decline with age. Sex differences were seen to reflect different kinds of socialization and the age decline was thought to be associated with biological processes.Australian data were collected from 335 females and 363 males, distributed over the age range 17-60 years. Overall, males showed higher SSS scores than females, replicating Canadian, American and English data. Thrill and adventure seeking scores showed this difference most clearly. However, the total SSS scores displayed a significant sex by age interaction, a result differing most markedly from previously published findings, with females in the 3&39 age group recording higher scores than males. The experience seeking (ES) results were particularly different from English data, displaying a significant sex by age interaction. Whereas males showed a decline over age on ES, females reported increasing ES behaviours until the fall towards male levels in the U 9 age group. The elevation in ES by the younger female groups, accompanied by dips in the linear trends for disinhibition and boredom susceptibility scores for males at the 3&39-year level, contributed to the major sex by age interaction in total SSS scores. Scale reliabilities were generally higher than those reported by Ridgeway & Russell (1980). The evidence strongly indicated the wisdom of control for age in research on sensation seeking.

Are patients who are provided with details about anaesthesia risks on the eve of surgery better informed, and does the information increase their anxiety? Forty (ASA Class I or 1/) patients scheduled for surgery requiring general anaesthesia were randomly allocated to either a routine or a detailed information group. Levels of anxiety were assessed by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Actual knowledge of risks was assessed by a special visual analogue scale. Patients had experienced an average of five previous anaesthetics and so most patients in both groups knew the risks of common complications such as nausea and sore throat and were able to represent them accurately on the visual analogue scale. The detailed group, however, had gained more accurate knowledge of the likelihood of two rare complications, death (P< 0.001) and serious tooth damage (P < 0.05). Notwithstanding, there was no difference between the groups in anxiety. Thus, provision of detailed information about the risks of the complications of general anaesthesia did increase patients' knowledge but did not increase patients' levels of anxiety.

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