High sensation-seeking teens are about three times more likely than low sensation-seeking teens to experiment with illicit drugs. (Partnership Attitude Tracking Study)

Do any of the following statements sound familiar to you?

• Your child likes to explore strange places or is interested in extreme sports like bungee jumping.
• Your child gets restless when spending too much time at home.
• Your child prefers friends who are exciting and unpredictable.
• Your child gravitates toward new and exciting, sometime frightening, experiences.
• Your child enjoys trips that are not preplanned or scheduled.

If many of these statements resemble life with your child, you might be raising a "sensation seeker." Sensation seeking is a personality trait associated with the need for lots of stimulation, lots of novelty, a tendency to shift from one thing to another, and the tendency to become bored very easily. Sensation seekers make up about half of the teen population.

Parents of sensation seekers need to be especially vigilant when it comes to Tobacco , Alcohol , or other drugs. The sensation seeker tendency to try out new things first extends to sex, alcohol, Inhalants , Marijuana , and other drugs — they often like the novelty of feeling drunk or high. They also tend to choose other sensation seeking kids as friends, which means they are doubly at risk. Studies show that association with peers who use is the most common indicator of drug abuse.

Not all sensation seekers, however, are headed for a life of drug abuse. Dr. Phillip Palmgreen, a professor in the Department of Communications at the University of Kentucky explains that not all of the behaviors associated with "sensation seekers" are negative. "Sensation seekers are natural leaders, and history shows many revered presidents and captains of industry are among them," explains Dr. Palmgreen, "because leaders take risks and try new things. In order to become leaders, however, these teens need help focusing their energy on constructive activities that will help them to grow." (SAMSHA)

Constructive activities can be music, mountain biking, karate, rock climbing, white-water rafting, camping, dance and other sports. Remind your child that they would not be able to physically complete these great activities if they were on some sort of drug that would cause them to miss a step. They will recognize that a sensation seeker needs to be of a clear mind to truly experience all the "highs" of these risky activities.

If you do have a sensation seeker in your home, make sure she is very aware of your no drugs policy. Also, be especially vigilant when it comes to monitoring your child — they need to understand that it is one thing to get a rush from biking down a mountain and another thing to get a rush from taking drugs. Help your kid discover the right sensations to seek.