Comparison of Sensation Seeking and Family Functioning in Divorced, During Divorce and Normal Individuals

Since family is an important factor in human history and has an eminent role in his individual performance, the aim of this study is to compare sensation seeking and family functioning among divorced, during divorce and non-divorced individuals. The method of the present study was Causal-Comparative. The statistical society was comprised of divorced and during divorced inhabitants of Tehran. The study sample included 451 divorced and 421 during divorced individuals, chosen by Stratified relative sampling from different courts of Tehran. Then, 500 people were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling (or matched) as the control group. The participants answered McMaster Family Functioning Assessment and Arndt sensation seeking scale. The data was analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Scheffe post hoc test. Findings showed that sensation seeking and family function had significant differences, in 0/05 level, in all aspects among divorced, and during divorced and non-divorced subjects. This meant that divorced and during divorced subjects had more sensation seeking and their family functioning were more imbalanced. The study findings implied that divorced and during divorced subjects had more sensation seeking and lower family functioning. Therefore, sensation seeking serves as a factor that makes a conflict between family executive system and non-socially accepted activities.