Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-2lccl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T22:04:53.629Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Scared behind the wheel: what impact does driving anxiety have on the health and well-being of young older adults?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2017

Megan E. Hempel ,
Joanne E. Taylor ,
Martin J. Connolly ,
Fiona M. Alpass  and
Christine V. Stephens Open the ORCID record for Christine V. Stephens [Opens in a new window]
Megan E. Hempel
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Joanne E. Taylor*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Martin J. Connolly
Affiliation:
Freemasons’ Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand Waitemata District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand
Fiona M. Alpass
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Christine V. Stephens
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Joanne E. Taylor, School of Psychology, Private Bag 11–222, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Phone: +64 6 951 8068 (DDI) or +64 6 356 9099 extension 85068; Fax: +64 6 350 5673. Email: j.e.taylor@massey.ac.nz.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

Driving anxiety can range from driving reluctance to driving phobia, and 20% of young older adults experience mild driving anxiety, whereas 6% report moderate to severe driving anxiety. However, we do not know what impact driving anxiety has on health and well-being, especially among older drivers. This is problematic because there is a growing proportion of older adult drivers and a potential for driving anxiety to result in premature driving cessation that can impact on health and mortality. The purpose of the current study was to examine the impact of driving anxiety on young older adults’ health and well-being.

Method:

Data were taken from a longitudinal study of health and aging that included 2,473 young older adults aged 55–70 years. The outcome measures were mental and physical health (SF-12) and quality of life (WHOQOL-8).

Results:

Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that driving anxiety was associated with poorer mental health, physical health, and quality of life, over and above the effect of socio-demographic variables. Sex moderated the effect of driving anxiety on mental health and quality of life in that, as driving anxiety increased, men and women were more likely to have lower mental health and quality of life, but women were more likely to have higher scores compared to men.

Conclusion:

Further research is needed to investigate whether driving anxiety contributes to premature driving cessation. If so, self-regulation of driving and treating driving anxiety could be important in preventing or reducing the declines in health and quality of life associated with driving cessation for older adults affected by driving anxiety.

Keywords

driving anxietyolder adultsdrivinghealthquality of life
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 29 , Issue 6 , June 2017 , pp. 1027 - 1034
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bauer, M. J., Rottunda, S. and Adler, G. (2003). Older women and driving cessation. Qualitative Social Work, 2, 309–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheak-Zamora, N. C., Wyrwich, K. W. and McBride, T. D. (2009). Reliability and validity of the SF-12v2 in the medical expenditure panel survey. Quality of Life Research, 18, 727–735.Google Scholar
Chihuri, S. et al. (2016). Driving cessation and health outcomes in older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 64, 332–341.Google Scholar
Craske, M. G. (2003). Origins of Phobias and Anxiety Disorders: Why More Women than Men?. Oxford: Elsevier.Google Scholar
da Costa, R. T., de Carvalho, M. R., Cantini, J., da Rocha Freire, R. C. and Nardi, A. E. (2014). Demographics, clinical characteristics and quality of life of Brazilian women with driving phobia. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 55, 374–379.Google Scholar
Dillman, D. A. (2000). Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method, 2nd edn, New York, USA: Wiley.Google Scholar
Gallo, J. J., Rebok, G. W. and Lesikar, S. E. (1999). The driving habits and patterns of adults aged 60 years and older. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 47, 335–341.Google Scholar
Garrity, R. D. and Demick, J. (2001). Relations among personality traits, mood states and driving behaviors. Journal of Adult Development, 8, 109–118.Google Scholar
Gwyther, H. and Holland, C. (2012). The effect of age, gender and attitudes on self-regulation in driving. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 45, 19–28.Google Scholar
Hair, J. F. Jr., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J. and Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate Data Analysis: A Global Perspective, 7th edn, Upper Saddle River, USA: Pearson.Google Scholar
Jensen, J., Spittal, M. and Krishnan, V. (2005). ELSI Short Form: User Manual for a Direct Measure of Living Standards. Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Ministry of Social Development.Google Scholar
Koch, W. J. and Taylor, S. (1995). Assessment and treatment of motor vehicle accident victims. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 2, 327–342.Google Scholar
Marottoli, R. A., Mendes de Leon, C. F., Glass, T. A., Williams, C. S., Cooney, L. M. Jr and Berkman, L. F. (2000). Consequences of driving cessation: decreased out-of-home activity levels. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 55B, 334–340.Google Scholar
Mathew, R. J., Weinman, M. L., Semchuk, K. M. and Levin, B. L. (1982). Driving phobia in the city of Houston: a pilot study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 1049–1051.Google Scholar
Musselwhite, C. B. A. and Haddad, H. (2010). Mobility, accessibility and quality of later life. Quality in Ageing in Older Adults, 11, 25–37.Google Scholar
Ragland, D. R., Satariano, W. A. and MacLeod, K. E. (2005). Driving cessation and increased depressive symptoms. Journal of Gerontology, 60A, 399–403.Google Scholar
Shimada, H., Makizako, H., Tsutsumimoto, K., Hotta, R., Nakakubo, S. and Doi, T. (2016). Driving and incidence of functional limitation in older people: a prospective population-based study. Gerontology, 62, 636–643.Google Scholar
Skevington, S. M., Lotfy, M. and O'Connell, K. A. (2004). The World Health Organization's WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment: psychometric properties and results of the international field trial. Quality of Life Research, 13, 299–310.Google Scholar
Statistics New Zealand. (2007). New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings 2006. Wellington, New Zealand: Statistics New Zealand.Google Scholar
Stephens, C., Alpass, F., Baars, M., Towers, A. and Stevenson, B. (2010). SF-36v2 norms for New Zealanders aged 55-69 years. New Zealand Medical Journal, 123, 47–57.Google Scholar
Tabachnick, B. G. and Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using Multivariate Statistics, 6th edn, Boston, USA: Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Taylor, J. E., Alpass, F., Stephens, C. and Towers, A. (2011). Driving anxiety and fear in young older adults in New Zealand. Age and Ageing, 40, 62–66.Google Scholar
Taylor, J. E., Deane, F. P. and Podd, J. V. (2002). Driving-related fear: a review. Clinical Psychology Review, 22, 631–645.Google Scholar
Taylor, J. E., Deane, F. P. and Podd, J. V. (2007). Diagnostic features, symptom severity, and help-seeking in a media-recruited sample of women with driving fear. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioural Assessment, 29, 81–91.Google Scholar
Taylor, S. and Koch, W. J. (1995). Anxiety disorders due to motor vehicle accidents: nature and treatment. Clinical Psychology Review, 15, 721–738.Google Scholar
Towers, A. (2006). Methodology. In Health, Work and Retirement Survey: Summary Report for the 2006 Data Wave. Palmerston North, New Zealand: School of Psychology, Massey University.Google Scholar
Towers, A. and Noone, J. (2007). Characteristics of the sample. In Health, Work, and Retirement Survey: Summary Report for the 2006 Data Wave. Palmerston North, New Zealand: School of Psychology, Massey University.Google Scholar
Towers, A. and Stevenson, B. (2014). NZLSA cohort profile. Technical report for the New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Palmerston North, New Zealand: Massey University.Google Scholar
Ware, J. E., Kosinski, M., Turner-Bowker, D. and Gandek, B. (2002). SF12v2: How to Score Version 2 of the SF-12 Health Survey. Lincoln, USA: Quality Metric Incorporated.Google Scholar
Wetherell, J. L., Thorp, S. R., Patterson, T. L., Golshan, S., Jeste, D. V. and Gatz, M. (2004). Quality of life in geriatric generalised anxiety disorder: a preliminary investigation. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 38, 305–312.Google Scholar
WHOQOL Group. (1994). Development of the WHOQOL: rationale and current status. International Journal of Mental Health, 23, 24–56.Google Scholar