Abstract :
[en] Introduction and aims. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB, Ajzen, 1991) is a psychological model which describes the relation between socio-cognitive factors (i.e., attitudes, norms, perceived behaviour control) and behaviour. This model is widely used in traffic research to predict unsafe traffic behaviour as e.g. drinking and driving (Moan & Rise, 2011; Rivis et al., 2011, Chan et al., 2010). In ESRA (Survey of Road users’ Attitudes) this model was used as inspiration for designing the ESRA2 questionnaire. The current study is based on the results of the second edition of the ESRA survey in 2018. It investigates cross-national differences in self-declared drinking and driving and related socio-cognitive factors. More specifically it assesses self-reported car driving when one may have been over the legal limit for drinking and driving in the last months.
Methods. The study covers the results of 32 countries across 5 continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania). In each county a representative sample of the national adult population (N≥1,000) was requested to complete an online survey. The current study was limited to drivers, indicating, that they have driven a car in the last 30 days (N=25,459). Linear regression models were used to investigate the association between the socio-cognitive factors and self-declared drinking and driving. Furthermore, additional sociodemographic variables were included in the models. Those were: gender, age, educational level, accessibility of public transport and driving frequency. The models were fitted on the overall sample and the national samples separately.
Results and Discussion. In the overall model, 13% of the car drivers reported having driven with an alcohol concentration which might have been above the legal limit at least once in the last 30 days. This prevalence ranged from 3,9% in Hungary to 24,2% in Belgium. The results of the overall linear regression model showed that gender, age, accessibility of public transport, attitudes, norms, perceived behaviour control and intention were significantly associated with self-declared drinking and driving. The included variables help explaining the variance of drinking and driving in the overall model (R2 =.34). The national models showed similar results, but the effect sizes of the investigated variables as well as the explained variance of drinking and driving differed per country.
Conclusions. The results of this study support that socio-cognitive factors have a significant effect on self-declared drinking and driving. They can help to explain the prevalence of drinking and driving. This conclusion is valid not only in the overall model but also in national models of 32 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania.
