NCJ Number
208985
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 19 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2004 Pages: 469-477
Date Published
August 2004
Length
9 pages
Annotation
To understand problem driving behavior, this study examined the influence of driver age and vengeance as predictors of mild aggression among drivers with at least 5 years experience.
Abstract
According to previous research vengeance can be a strong motivation for aggressive and violent behavior. In addition, research has linked vengeance to roadway aggression and violence in both hypothetical and actual driving situations. Previous research has also found that as drivers age and gain experience, they typically achieve a greater understanding of the causes of anger and develop a greater accuracy in the perceptions of risks involved in hazardous driving patterns, thereby leading to decreased aggressive responses. As a result, this study was designed to examine this link across an older driving sample with at least 5 years driving experience. It was hypothesized that mild driver aggression would decline with age, but most prominently among low vengeance drivers. Participants included 90 females and males from York University in Toronto, Canada. Participants had a minimum of 5 years driving experience with an average of 15.45 years experience. The age range was 21 to 67 years of age with an average of 32.88 years. The study demonstrates that mild aggression declined only among low vengeance drivers. Moderately vengeful drivers showed little change in aggression with age. Unexpectedly, mild driver aggression actually increased with age among highly vengeful drivers. This study shows the importance of the interaction of personal, social, and experiential factors in understanding problem driving behavior. References