Testing an intervention encouraging self-regulation in drivers across the lifespan

2. Background
• Driving is an important factor in maintaining health
and quality of life in older adults.
• Self-regulation (SR) is being promoted as a safe
method of maintaining independent mobility in older
drivers.
• SR often thought of as driving avoidance (e.g. not
driving in the dark) BUT it also incorporates planning
(e.g. route mapping).
• Could an intervention be designed to promote SR
planning behaviours in drivers across the lifespan?

3. Aim
To design and use a theoretically based
intervention to positively influence self-
regulation planning intentions and
behaviours.

4. Theoretical Basis
• Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991).
• Established health psychology model used to
predict intention and behaviour.

5. Research Questions
• To determine the effects of the intervention
on:
–Direct measures of TPB constructs
–Indirect measures of TPB constructs
–Self-reported planning behaviours
–Goal achievement

6. Methods
• Randomised controlled trial.
• Drivers stratified by age into three groups –
young (17-25 years), middle-years (26-64
years) and old (65 years +).
• Participants randomly allocated to group
intervention or control condition.

7. Participants
• N = 81, 53 women & 28 men.
• Aged : 18 to 83 years.
Mean = 46.40 years, S.D. = 20.58 years.
• Experience : 3 months to 66 years.
Mean = 26.26 years, S.D. = 19.03 years.

8. Materials
• Pre and post-intervention questionnaire
packet – demographics, SRI, TPB.
• ‘DriveSafe’ handypack.
• Intervention worksheet
• Additional set of questions relating to goal
achievement for intervention group.

9. Intervention Components
Persuasive
messages Goal setting
Action
planning
Coping
planning
Behavioural
Contract

10. Results
• Direct Constructs
– Explained 34% of variance in intention.
– Increase in affective attitude.
• Indirect Constructs
– Explained 11% of variance in intention.
– Reduction in normative beliefs.
• Self-reported Planning Behaviour
– Increased.
• Goal achievement
– Over 90% achieved first and second goals

11. Conclusions
• Extended TPB intervention successful in
facilitating change in self-reported, SR behaviour
– offers promise as a tool to assist drivers in
achieving their mobility goals.
• Intervention positively affects affective attitude.
Care should be taken to ensure that changing
affective attitude does not increase risk potential.

12. Limitations
• Attrition.
• Gender balance (Higher female take up rate).
• Self-report measures.
• Cannot attribute results to either TPB or goal
setting tasks.
• Short timescale.

13. References
• Abraham and Michie (2008) A taxonomy of behavior change techniques used in
interventions. Health Psychology, 27, 379-387.
• Ajzen, I (1991) The theory of planned behaviour. Orgainizational Behavior and
Human Decision Processes 50(2), 179-211.
• Ajzen (2002a)Constructing a TPB questionnaire: conceptual and methodological
considerations. Retrieved 15 May, 2012, from
http://socgeo.ruhosting.nl/html/files/spatbeh/tpb.measurement.pdf
• Gollwitzer (1993) Goal achievement: The role of intentions. European Review of
Social Psychology, 4, 141-185.
• Gollwitzer and Sheeran (2006) Implementation Intentions and Goal Achievement:
A Meta-analysis of Effects and Processes. In P. Z. Mark (Ed.), Advances in
Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. Volume 38, pp. 69-119): Academic Press.
• Sniehotta, Schwarzer, Scholz and Schulz (2005) Action planning and coping
planning for long-term lifestyle change: Theory and assessment. European Journal
of Social Psychology, 35(4), 565-576.
• Sniehotta (2009) Towards a theory of intentional behaviour change: Plans,
planning, and self-regulation. British Journal of Health Psychology, 14, 261-273.

14. Acknowledgements
• This study was funded by DriveSafe-Stay
Safe, a Birmingham based road safety
charity and the Economic and Social
Research Council, award number
ES/G003777/1.
• We are grateful to the drivers who
participated in this study.