The Driving Behavior Survey: Scale construction and validation

Although long recognized in the clinical literature, problematic behavior characteristic of anxious drivers has received little empirical attention. The current research details development of a measure of anxious driving behavior conducted across three studies. Factor analytic techniques identified three dimensions of maladaptive behaviors across three college samples: anxiety-based performance deficits, exaggerated safety/caution behavior, and anxiety-related hostile/aggressive behavior. Performance deficits evidenced convergent associations with perceived driving skill and were broadly related to driving fear. Safety/caution behaviors demonstrated convergence with overt travel avoidance, although this relationship was inconsistent across studies. Safety/caution scores were associated specifically with accident- and social-related driving fears. Hostile/aggressive behaviors evidenced convergent relationships with driving anger and were associated specifically with accident-related fear. Internal consistencies were adequate, although some test–retest reliabilities were marginal in the unselected college sample. These data provide preliminary evidence for utility of the measure for both research and clinical practice.

Research highlights▶ The Driving Behavior Survey (DBS) assesses 3 dimensions of anxious driving behavior. ▶ Performance deficits were associated with lower perceptions of driving skill. ▶ Exaggerated safety/caution behaviors were associated with increased travel avoidance. ▶ Hostile/aggressive behaviors were associated with increased driving anger. ▶ Initial examination of the psychometric properties of the DBS is promising.