The great variety of behaviors and social or personal characteristics can contribute to high crash rates among adolescents. Besides adolescents’ risky driving is possibly related to later risky driving behaviors in adulthood. Here is assumed that risky driving intentions in adolescence tend to lead to actual risky driving behavior. So this study aimed to examine the relations between psychosocial factors and intentions of risky driving in adolescence, also to explore the replication of previous !ndings in correlates of adolescent risky driving intentions in Lithuanian sample. Methods. A self-report questionnaire survey was distributed to 222 Lithuanian adolescents. Results. The results showed that the level of risky driving intention was signi!cantly higher for males than females. Adolescents, who had more problematic friends, were more oriented to material values, demonstrated higher levels of intentions to risky driving. Parental restrictions, some values and psychosocial function of driving did not emerge as predictors. Conclusions. It is concluded that psychosocial factors taken in a complex manner might be important in the explanation of adolescents’ risky driving intentions. Lithuanian adolescents re"ect similar psychosocial factors related to risky driving behavior as in other countries.

Background, purpose. Lithuania is named as a leader among other countries in European Union for the number of death on road accidents. Risky behavior of a driver is identified as the main reason for such situation. In this context appropriate and reliable evaluation of risky driving is very important. Practitioners and researchers are lacking for broadly applicable complex instruments that would also be reliable and valid to assess risky driving. Therefore, the main aim of the research was to evaluate psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of Driver behavior questionnaire Lithuanian version. Method. The research involved three groups of participants (young, professional drivers and mixed by age group). The whole sample consisted of 942 drivers. Respondents filled up a questionnaire consisting of Driver behavior questionnaire (Parker et al., 1995), exact questions about remembered accidents on road. 40 participants from young drivers’ group tried driving simulator. Some other questionnaires were added in order to evaluate drivers’ personality traits, attitudes towards risky driving. Results. The research results showed that Driver behavior questionnaire was highly reliable. Besides, stability of the test-retest results was an important feature of this instrument. Exploratory, confirmatory factor and correlation analysis suggested two factor solution for this instrument. Content and criterion validity was confirmed by statistically significant relations between risky driving and aggressiveness, neuroticism, risky attitudes, remembered accidents on road (positive correlations), conscientiousness (negative correlations). Conclusions. In summary, Driving behavior questionnaire Lithuanian version can be labeled as an instrument with appropriate psychometric properties for future research in risky driving field and for application in practice. [...]

Lietuvoje viena iš penkių dažniausių suaugusiųjų gyventojų priešlaikinio mirtingumo priežasčių yra mirtys dėl sužeidimų eismo įvykiuose (Nacionalinė sveikatos taryba, 2012). Monografija „Lietuvių rizikingas vairavimas: ką gali paaiškinti psichologiniai veiksniai“ nagrinėja rizikingą vairavimą, kuris neretai priklauso nuo psichologinių priežasčių ir žymiai padidina patekimo į eismo įvykį riziką. Knygoje pristatomi autorių atliktų tyrimų duomenys, kurie įrodo, jog rizikingą vairavimą paaiškina įvairūs psichologiniai veiksniai: asmenybės bruožai, emocinės būsenos, kognityviniai veiksniai, nuostatos, motyvai ir socialiniai veiksniai. Monografijos paskirtis – psichologinėmis žiniomis prisidėti prie platesnio avaringumo Lietuvoje priežasčių supratimo, integruoti šias žinias, sprendžiant eismo saugumo problemas šalyje.