Highlights The study validated the applicability of the Family Climate for Road Safety Scale to the parents of young drivers. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a slightly modified structure of the scale for parents. Parents’ family climate for road safety scores are weakly to strongly associated with their driving styles. Perceptions of the family climate for road safety are shared by the two generations. The study indicates the potential value of the scale, both for research and for measuring the effectiveness of familial interventions.

    Abstract The current study examined the applicability of the Family Climate for Road Safety Scale (FCRSS; Taubman-Ben-Ari and Katz-Ben-Ami, 2013) to the parents of young drivers. The sample consisted of 549 parents and 234 of their children, all of whom completed the FCRSS. In addition, the parents completed the multidimensional driving style inventory (MDSI; Taubman-Ben-Ari et al., 2004) and provided background data (e.g., age, gender). Confirmatory factor analysis supported a slightly modified structure of the scale for parents. Examination of the correlations revealed significant weak to strong associations between parents’ scores on the various FCRSS dimensions on the one hand, and their self-reported driving styles and offspring’s perceptions of the family climate for safety on the other. The findings indicate that the FCRSS is suitable for use with the parents of young drivers, and that perceptions of the family climate are shared by the two generations. Furthermore, they show that family climate is related to parents’ customary driving behavior, with the careful driving style positively related to the positive dimensions of the FCRSS. The discussion stresses the importance of the parents’ influence on the manner in which their children drive, and the multifaceted nature of this influence. Moreover, it indicates the potential value of the FCRSS, both for research and for designing interventions and measuring their effectiveness.


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    Title :

    Parents’ perceptions of the family climate for road safety


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2014-10-25


    Size :

    5 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English