Citation

Simons-Morton BG, Bingham CR, Falk EB, Li K, Pradhan AK, Ouimet MC, Almani F, Shope JT. Health Psychol. 2014; 33(7): 616-627.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/a0034837

PMID

24467258

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Teenage passengers affect teenage driving performance, possibly by social influence. To examine the effect of social norms on driving behavior, male teenagers were randomly assigned to drive in a simulator with a peer-aged confederate to whom participants were primed to attribute either risk-accepting or risk-averse social norms. It was hypothesized that teenage drivers would engage in more risky driving behavior in the presence of peer passengers than no passengers, and with a risk-accepting compared with a risk-averse passenger.

METHOD: 66 male participants aged 16 to18 years holding a provisional driver license were randomized to drive with a risk-accepting or risk-averse passenger in a simulator. Failure to Stop at a red light and percent Time in Red (light) were measured as primary risk-relevant outcomes of interest at 18 intersections, while driving once alone and once with their assigned passenger.

RESULTS: The effect of passenger presence on risky driving was moderated by passenger type for Failed to Stop in a generalized linear mixed model (OR = 1.84, 95% CI [1.19, 2.86], p < .001), and percent Time in Red in a mixed model (B = 7.71, 95% CI [1.54, 13.87], p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS: Exposure of teenage males to a risk-accepting confederate peer increased teenage males' risky simulated driving behavior compared with exposure to a risk-averse confederate peer. These results indicate that variability in teenage risky driving could be partially explained by social norms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Language: en