Citation

Fischer C, Heider J, Taylor JE, Schröder A. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2021; 83: 118-129.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2021.10.005

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Fear of driving is common in clinical practice, while its treatment programs are understudied. This is the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate a newly developed protocol for cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for driving fear compared with a wait list and to use specific assessment scales. 34 participants (30 women, 4 men) in an outpatient psychotherapy clinic were randomly allocated to either 18 sessions of CBT or a wait list (n = 17 each). After treatment, CBT was significantly more efficacious than the wait list with large effect sizes on the Instrument for Fear of Driving (IFD) (Cohen's d = 2.58) and on the Driving Cognitions Questionnaire (DCQ) (Cohen's d = 2.14). Driving fear is a condition treatable by CBT and the suggested protocol is safe, feasible and acceptable. Further studies with larger samples and active controls (e.g., virtual reality therapy) are required to draw generalizable conclusions on effect sizes.

Language: en

Keywords

Cognitive behavioral therapy; Driving fear; Pilot study; Randomized controlled trial