IMPACT OF A DRIVING DECISION AID ON DECISIONAL CONFLICT AMONG OLDER ADULT DRIVERS AND THEIR STUDY PARTNERS

Fowler, Nicole R.; Johnson, Rachel L.; Peterson, Ryan; Schroeder, Matthew; DiGuiseppi, Carolyn; Han, Duke; Hill, Linda; Betz, Marian E. · 2022 · Innovation in Aging

DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igac059.3057

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Summary

This study investigates the impact of a driving decision aid on decisional conflict among older adult drivers and their study partners (SPs), such as family members or friends. With 44 million licensed drivers in the US aged 65 and older facing increased crash risks, decisions regarding when to stop driving are complex and often involve significant interpersonal tension. The research aims to determine if decision conflict is shared between drivers and their partners and whether a decision aid intervention reduces this conflict for both parties. The researchers analyzed data from a multi-site trial involving 228 driver-SP dyads. Participants included drivers with a mean age of 77.1 years (50% female, 94.7% white) and SPs with a mean age of 66.1 years (65.8% female, 92.1% white), most of whom were spouses or adult children. Decision conflict was measured using the Decision Conflict Scale (DCS) before and after the implementation of the driving decision aid. The study employed an actor-partner interdependence model to analyze dyadic associations between drivers’ and SPs’ DCS scores, assessing both baseline correlations and changes post-intervention. The results indicated that most drivers (71.7%) and SPs (63.3%) reported low baseline decision conflict, with mean DCS scores of 18.5 and 20.5, respectively. However, DCS scores were significantly correlated within dyads at baseline (r=0.18, p < 0.01). Baseline DCS scores were strongly associated with post-decision aid scores for both drivers and SPs (β=0.73, p < 0.001). Crucially, while SPs’ baseline conflict did not predict drivers’ post-intervention conflict, drivers’ baseline decision conflict significantly predicted SPs’ post-decision aid conflict (β=0.10, p=0.036). This suggests that the driver’s initial level of conflict influences the partner’s subsequent level of conflict, even after the intervention. The findings highlight that decision conflict regarding driving cessation is a dyadic issue, frequently shared between older drivers and their partners. The persistence of conflict in SPs, linked to the driver’s baseline state, indicates that decision aids may not fully resolve interpersonal tensions if the driver’s initial conflict remains high. This underscores the importance of addressing the needs of both the driver and their support network in interventions designed to facilitate safe driving transitions.

Key finding

Higher decision conflict about driving felt by older drivers is frequently shared by their study partners, in whom decision conflict may persist even after a driving decision aid intervention.

Methodology

field_study

Sample size: 228

Provenance

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Topics

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• older drivers