Transitions to non-driving: Internal factors that influence coping in older drivers
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Summary
This study investigates the internal factors that influence how older adults cope with the transition from driving to non-driving, a process often characterized by emotional and logistical difficulties. The research was motivated by the need to help primary care clinicians better support older drivers by prioritizing emotional wellbeing and out-of-home mobility. Specifically, the authors sought to examine whether readiness for mobility transition and personality characteristics, such as openness to change, influence the coping strategies employed by older adults during this transition. The researchers conducted a secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Advancing Understanding of Transportation Options (AUTO) randomized controlled trial. The study population consisted of 301 drivers aged 70 years or older, enrolled from primary care clinics in California, Colorado, and Indiana. Participants were exposed to an online driving decision aid. The study utilized generalized linear mixed effect models to analyze the data. Explanatory variables included participants’ internal factors measured at baseline: the Ten-Item Personality Inventory and the Assessment of Readiness for Mobility Transition, which was categorized into low, mixed, or high readiness levels. The primary outcome measure was the self-reported use of any alternative transportation (such as public transit, rideshare services, or rides with friends or family) in the past three months, assessed at follow-up intervals of 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. The results indicated that readiness for mobility transition was significantly associated with the use of alternative transportation. Compared to participants with low readiness, those with mixed readiness had a higher likelihood of using alternative transportation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.06, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.03–4.12). Participants with high readiness showed an even stronger association (aOR = 6.37, 95% CI: 1.45–28.07). In contrast, none of the measured personality characteristics were associated with the use of alternative transportation over the study period. Furthermore, neither readiness nor personality characteristics were associated with driving reduction during the follow-up period. The study concludes that higher readiness for mobility transition is a key predictor of subsequent use of alternative transportation options among older adults. These findings suggest that clinicians can improve their support for older drivers by understanding and addressing patients’ readiness levels. By tailoring conversations to these internal factors, healthcare providers can facilitate more effective coping strategies. The authors emphasize that future interventions and policies aimed at addressing the needs of older drivers would benefit significantly from incorporating an understanding of older adults’ readiness for mobility transition.
Key finding
Higher readiness for mobility transition was significantly associated with increased use of alternative transportation options among older drivers, while personality characteristics were not associated with transportation use or driving reduction.
Methodology
dataset
Sample size: 301
Provenance
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | author_sweep | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-27 |
| archive | success | canonical_url | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-06 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-07 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-07 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-07 |
| enrich | success | openalex | — | — | 5 | 2026-07-02 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-04 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 15 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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