What does the Driving and Riding Avoidance Scale (DRAS) measure?

Driving anxiety can have a significant impact on everyday functioning and usually results in some kind of avoidance behaviour. The Driving and Riding Avoidance Scale (DRAS; Stewart, A. E., & St. Peter, C. C. (2004). Driving and riding avoidance following motor vehicle crashes in a non-clinical sample: psychometric properties of a new measure. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 859-879) shows promise in the self-report assessment of the degree of such avoidance. The present study investigated the psychometric properties of the DRAS in a sample of 301 university students. Internal consistency for the DRAS was 0.89 and temporal stability over two months was 0.71. The factor structure of the DRAS supported the use of the general and traffic avoidance subscales but not the weather and riding avoidance subscales in the present non-clinical sample. However, a significant limitation of the DRAS is that it does not assess the reasons for driving avoidance, and is therefore not a measure of avoidance that is due to driving anxiety. Some items may be rated highly for practical reasons, such as avoidance because of increasing fuel and other costs associated with driving. Modified instructions for the DRAS should ensure that it measures anxiety-related avoidance behaviour.

[1]  R. Cattell.  The Scree Test For The Number Of Factors. , 1966, Multivariate behavioral research.

[2]  E. Blanchard,et al.  After the Crash: Psychological Assessment and Treatment of Survivors of Motor Vehicle Accidents , 2003 .

[3]  F. Deane,et al.  Acquisition and severity of driving-related fears. , 1999, Behaviour research and therapy.

[4]  B. Watson,et al.  An application of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire in an Australian organisational fleet setting , 2007 .

[5]  Stefan G. Hofmann,et al.  Clinical characteristics of driving phobia , 1994 .

[6]  Dianne Parker,et al.  Driving errors, driving violations and accident involvement. , 1995, Ergonomics.

[7]  H. Kaiser.  An index of factorial simplicity , 1974 .

[8]  Joanne E. Taylor.  Driving Phobia Consequent to Motor Vehicle Collisions , 2008 .

[9]  F. Deane,et al.  Diagnostic Features, Symptom Severity, and Help-Seeking in a Media-Recruited Sample of Women with Driving Fear , 2007 .

[10]  M. Duckworth,et al.  Motor vehicle collisions : medical, psychosocial, and legal consequences , 2008 .

[11]  M. Sullman,et al.  Social desirability and self-reported driving behaviours: Should we be worried? , 2010 .

[12]  Steven Taylor,et al.  Anxiety disorders due to motor vehicle accidents: Nature and treatment , 1995 .

[13]  J. Stevens.  Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences , 1986 .

[14]  E. Glucksman,et al.  Do Cognitive Models Help in Predicting the Severity of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Phobia, and Depression After Motor Vehicle Accidents? A Prospective Longitudinal Study , 2008, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[15]  H. Kaiser.  A second generation little jiffy , 1970 .

[16]  Alan E Stewart,et al.  Attributions of responsibility for motor vehicle crashes. , 2005, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[17]  Alan E Stewart,et al.  Driving and riding avoidance following motor vehicle crashes in a non-clinical sample: psychometric properties of a new measure. , 2004, Behaviour research and therapy.

[18]  T. Lajunen,et al.  Driver Behaviour Questionnaire: a follow-up study. , 2006, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[19]  John Spicer,et al.  Making sense of multivariate data analysis , 2004 .

[20]  S Stradling,et al.  Errors and violations on the roads: a real distinction? , 1990, Ergonomics.

[21]  Klaus Kuch,et al.  A brief self-rating scale for PTSD after road vehicle accident , 1995 .

[22]  Heikki Summala,et al.  Cross-cultural differences in driving behaviours: A comparison of six countries , 2006 .

[23]  Steven Taylor,et al.  Assessment and treatment of motor vehicle accident victims , 1995 .

[24]  Sun I. Kim,et al.  Exploring the Use of Computer Games and Virtual Reality in Exposure Therapy for Fear of Driving Following a Motor Vehicle Accident , 2003, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[25]  M. Bartlett,et al.  A note on the multiplying factors for various chi square approximations , 1954 .

[26]  Geoffrey Underwood,et al.  A STUDY OF THE ACCIDENTS AND BEHAVIOURS OF COMPANY CAR DRIVERS , 2001 .

[27]  B. Cox,et al.  Psychometric properties of the Accident Fear Questionnaire: An analysis based on motor vehicle accident survivors in a rehabilitation setting. , 1999 .

[28]  D. Wright.  Behavioural research in road safety VII , 1998 .

[29]  F. Deane,et al.  Comparison and characteristics of motor vehicle accident (MVA) and non-MVA driving fears. , 2000, Journal of anxiety disorders.