A cognitive-behavioural intervention to reduce driving anger: Evaluation based on a mixed-method approach

Multigroup invariance of measure for angry drivers (MAD) scale using a representative sample of drivers in Australia

INTRODUCTION

Driver anger and aggression have been linked to crash involvement and injury outcomes. Improved road safety outcomes may be achieved through understanding the causes of driver anger, and interventions designed to reduce this anger or prevent it from becoming aggression. Scales to measure anger propensities will be an important tool in this work. The measure for angry drivers (MAD; Stephens et al., 2019) is a contemporary scale designed to measure tendencies for anger across three types of driving scenarios: perceived danger from others, travel delays, and hostility or aggression from other drivers.

METHOD

This study aimed to validate MAD using a representative sample of Australian drivers, stratified across age, gender, and location. Participants completed a 10-minute online survey that included MAD, sought demographic information (age, gender, driving purpose, crash history), as well as the frequency of aggressive driving. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses (MGCFA) assessed how stable the structure of the MAD was across drivers of different ages, gender, purposes for driving and those who do or do not display anger aggressively. MAD was invariant across all groups, showing that all drivers interpreted and responded to MAD in the same way.

RESULTS

A comparison of latent means showed anger tendencies were higher for men compared to women, for younger drivers compared to older drivers, and for those who drive mainly for work compared to those who mainly drive for other reasons. When controlling for driver factors, driving anger was associated with increased odds of being aggressive while driving.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Overall, this study demonstrated that MAD is an appropriate scale to measure anger tendencies and can be used to support interventions, and evaluation of interventions, to reduce anger and aggressive driving.

Preliminary evidence of the efficacy of the Reducing Aggressive Driving (RAD) program

INTRODUCTION

Aggressive driving contributes to crashes, which often result in serious or fatal injuries. Efforts to reduce road trauma need to include strategies to reduce emotional and aggressive driving. Thus far, solutions have not comprehensively addressed the reasons why drivers become aggressive. This study provides preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of the Reduce Aggressive driving (RAD) program in improving driver behavior. The RAD is based on group discussion, feedback, and goal setting to encourage more positive responses to triggers for aggressive driving. The aim of this study was to evaluate the delivery of the RAD and its impact on driver anger and aggression.

METHOD

A total of 94 drivers, ranging in age from 18 to 74 years (Mean = 38; SD = 15; 56% males) attended one two-hour online RAD session during which they identified triggers for their aggression and developed individual strategies to avoid aggressive driving. Most (87%) participants agreed that the RAD helped them generate realistic strategies to avoid aggressive driving. A subset of 67 participants provided self-reported anger and aggressive driving tendencies one month, and four months after the RAD.

RESULTS

When these were compared to baseline measures taken before participation in the RAD, decreases across all measures were observed. Thus, anger and aggressive driving significantly decreased one month after the RAD, and these decreases were maintained at the four month follow up; providing evidence of the effectiveness of the RAD in reducing these dangerous behaviors. Further research is needed to objectively measure changes in behavior to and support broader roll-out of the RAD program.

A systematic review of neural, cognitive, and clinical studies of anger and aggression

Anger and aggression have large impact on people's safety and the society at large. In order to provide an intervention to minimise aggressive behaviours, it is important to understand the neural and cognitive aspects of anger and aggression. In this systematic review, we investigate the cognitive and neural aspects of anger-related processes, including anger-related behaviours and anger reduction. Using this information, we then review prior existing methods on the treatment of anger-related disorders as well as anger management, including mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy. At the cognitive level, our review that anger is associated with excessive attention to anger-related stimuli and impulsivity. At the neural level, anger is associated with abnormal functioning of the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. In conclusions, based on cognitive and neural studies, we here argue that mindfulness based cognitive behavioural therapy may be better at reducing anger and aggression than other behavioural treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy or mindfulness alone. We provide key information on future research work and best ways to manage anger and reduce aggression. Importantly, future research should investigate how anger related behaviours is acquired and how stress impacts the development of anger.