Citation

Clapp JD, Olsen SA, Beck JG, Palyo SA, Grant DM, Gudmundsdottir B, Marques L. J. Anxiety Disord. 2011; 25(1): 96-105.

Affiliation

University at Buffalo - SUNY, Department of Psychology, Park Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.08.008

PMID

20832988

PMCID

PMC3006470

Abstract

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.

Language: en