Citation

Sukhawathanakul P, Porter MM, Tuokko H, Charlton JL, Koppel S, Bedard MI, Naglie G, Marshall S, Rapoport MJ, Vrkljan B, Gelinas I, Mazer B. J. Australas. Coll. Road Saf. 2018; 29(4): 46-52.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Australasian College of Road Safety)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

The Decisional Balance Scale (DBS) was developed to assess older adults' attitudes related to driving and includes both intra- and inter-personal motivations for driving. The current study examines the DBS in a sample of older drivers from Australia (n = 257). Longitudinal evaluation of the DBS subscales revealed that changes in attitudes covary with changes in self-regulatory driving practices across 6 annual assessments. Specifically, negative attitudes related to inter-personal motivations for driving (con-other) were associated with participants' scores on the Situational Driving Frequency (SDF) scale. Negative attitudes related to intra-personal motivations for driving (con-self) were associated with participants' scores on the Situational Driving Avoidance (SDA) scale. These findings highlight the importance of considering attitudes in understanding older drivers' decisions to regulate their driving practices.

Key Findings
• The Decisional Balance Scale can be used to assess driving-related attitudes among older adults;

• Changes in attitudes covaried with changes in self-regulatory driving practices across six annual assessments in a sample of Australian older drivers;

• Attitudes related to driving may facilitate self-regulatory driving practices among older adults.

Keywords: Driving, Attitudes, Beliefs, Older driver

Language: en