Driving game playing as a predictor of adolescents’ unlicensed driving in Flanders

The purpose of the current study is to examine whether adolescents’ playing of racing and drive’em up games predicts unlicensed driving in Flanders. A longitudinal panel survey (2006, 2008) was executed among a sample of 1104 adolescent boys and girls (17-18 years old at baseline measurement) in the Flemish region of Belgium. Logistic regression analysis was used in order to examine whether driving game playing predicts self-reported unlicensed driving. The analyses indicated that the odds of having engaged in unlicensed driving were nearly 2 times greater for moderate players (playing once a week or less) compared to those who never play these games. The odds of being an unlicensed driver were nearly four times greater for those playing at least a few times a week (OR=3.709) compared to non-players. Playing driving games appears to be a better predictor of unlicensed driving than other variables which one would expect to predict this form of risk taking such as gender, school level, sensation seeking and risk perception.

Publication year:2013

Accessibility:Open