Risk-taking attitudes among young drivers: the psychometric qualities and dimensionality of an instrument to measure young drivers' risk-taking attitudes

Adolescents are proportionately more frequently involved in traffic accidents than are other age groups. A strategy for promoting road safety is to change the attitudes likely to influence driving behavior. However, the lack of valid and reliable instruments to measure risk-taking attitudes makes it difficult to evaluate the effects of measures aimed at changing attitudes among young drivers and their passengers. The present study tested the psychometric qualities of a scale intended to measure adolescents' risk-taking attitudes to driving. The results are based on a self-completion questionnaire survey carried out among 3,942 adolescents and young adults, aged 16-23 years, in Norway in 1998/1999. Using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, 11 dimensions of risk-taking attitudes were identified. Parametric as well as nonparametric methods were applied to test the homogeneity of items within each attitude dimension. The reliability and validity of the dimensions were satisfactory. The attitude dimensions were significantly correlated with self-reported driving behavior, as well as accident frequency. The application of the new measurement instrument in studies aimed at evaluating safety campaigns is discussed.