TY - JOUR
T1 - Forgiveness and adverse driving outcomes within the past five years
T2 - Driving anger, driving anger expression, and aggressive driving behaviors as mediators
AU - Bumgarner, David J.
AU - Webb, Jon R.
AU - Dula, Chris S.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was conducted as part of the first author’s dissertation, as such this work was partially supported by resources and use of facilities at East Tennessee State University. In addition, this material is based upon work supported (or supported in part) by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government. This work was supported in part by the Office of Academic Affiliation (OAA) through educational grants which have funded the Rural & Underserved Interprofessional Postgraduate Fellowship. Additionally, this study is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System (GCVHCS), located in Biloxi, MS. A special thanks to Ms. Elizabeth Polinsky, LMSW, for her work in proofreading this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - Purpose: In the United States, motor-vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for individuals 18–24 years of age. Multiple factors place young drivers at an increased risk including risky and aggressive driving behaviors. Aggressive driving has been shown to account for more than half of the driving fatalities in the United States. Driving anger is predictive of aggressive driving and adverse driving outcomes. Research outside the context of driving has demonstrated associations between multiple dimensions of forgiveness and anger, aggressive behaviors, and health outcomes. A very small body of research suggests a modest relationship between forgiveness and both driving anger and aggressive driving. The current study expands on previous research to examine the impact of multiple dimensions of forgiveness on adverse driving outcomes. Methods: Undergraduate students (N = 446) completed, self-report measures of forgiveness, driving anger, driving anger expression, aggressive driving behaviors, and aversive driving outcomes. Results: Bivariate correlations indicated a significant negative relationship between each dimension of forgiveness and driving anger, driving anger expression, and aggressive driving. Forgiveness (of others and of uncontrollable situations) was found to have a significant indirect only effect on traffic violations through the mediators of driving anger and aggressive driving. Discussion: Current findings support and expand on previous research examining the association of forgiveness with adverse driving outcomes. Forgiveness of others and forgiveness of uncontrollable situations, but not forgiveness of self, were shown to indirectly impact traffic violations/warnings, but not crashes, within the past five years through reduced driving-related anger, anger expression, and/or aggression. Implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.
AB - Purpose: In the United States, motor-vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for individuals 18–24 years of age. Multiple factors place young drivers at an increased risk including risky and aggressive driving behaviors. Aggressive driving has been shown to account for more than half of the driving fatalities in the United States. Driving anger is predictive of aggressive driving and adverse driving outcomes. Research outside the context of driving has demonstrated associations between multiple dimensions of forgiveness and anger, aggressive behaviors, and health outcomes. A very small body of research suggests a modest relationship between forgiveness and both driving anger and aggressive driving. The current study expands on previous research to examine the impact of multiple dimensions of forgiveness on adverse driving outcomes. Methods: Undergraduate students (N = 446) completed, self-report measures of forgiveness, driving anger, driving anger expression, aggressive driving behaviors, and aversive driving outcomes. Results: Bivariate correlations indicated a significant negative relationship between each dimension of forgiveness and driving anger, driving anger expression, and aggressive driving. Forgiveness (of others and of uncontrollable situations) was found to have a significant indirect only effect on traffic violations through the mediators of driving anger and aggressive driving. Discussion: Current findings support and expand on previous research examining the association of forgiveness with adverse driving outcomes. Forgiveness of others and forgiveness of uncontrollable situations, but not forgiveness of self, were shown to indirectly impact traffic violations/warnings, but not crashes, within the past five years through reduced driving-related anger, anger expression, and/or aggression. Implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.
KW - Aggressive driving
KW - Driving anger
KW - Driving outcomes
KW - Forgiveness
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84994504724&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.trf.2016.07.017
DO - 10.1016/j.trf.2016.07.017
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84994504724
SN - 1369-8478
VL - 42
SP - 317
EP - 331
JO - Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
JF - Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
ER -