Decisional Balance and Readiness to Change Driving Behavior in Older Adults: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Many older adults self-regulate driving behavior, but little is known about the process underlying this behavior change. We adapted a decisional balance instrument assessing the cognitive and motivational aspects of decision-making for use in the context of driving restriction by older adults. In this exploratory study of forty drivers aged 57 to 90, it was shown that the four subscales assessing positive and negative aspects of driving in relation to self and others yielded generally adequate internal consistency reliabilities and that influences, both internal to the individual (e.g., awareness of declining abilities) and external (e.g., environmental demands), affected driving decisions.