The relationship between lifestyle, driving anger and dangerous driving behaviours - China

Zhai, Chenzhao; Xi, Wenhui · 2023 · Heliyon

DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16900

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Summary

This study investigates the relationship between lifestyle, driving anger, and dangerous driving behaviors among Chinese drivers, addressing a gap in understanding how non-traffic factors influence unsafe driving in a rapidly urbanizing context. Motivated by high rates of road crashes and driving anger in China, the researchers aimed to determine if specific lifestyle patterns predict dangerous driving and whether trait driving anger mediates this relationship. The study utilized an online survey of 344 licensed Chinese drivers, with 332 valid responses included in the final analysis. Participants completed a self-designed lifestyle questionnaire, the 14-item Driving Anger Scale (DAS), and the Dula Dangerous Driving Index (DDDI). The researchers employed Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to identify lifestyle dimensions, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to validate the DAS structure, Hierarchical Multiple Regression (HMR) to assess predictive power, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test mediation effects. The EFA revealed a four-factor lifestyle structure: “Culture,” “Workaholism,” “Sports,” and “Amusement.” The CFA established a two-factor structure for the DAS: “Safety Concern anger” and “Arrival Concern anger.” Regression analyses indicated that only the “Workaholism” lifestyle factor significantly predicted aggressive driving, risky driving, and negative emotion cognition driving. Gender also played a role, with males reporting higher levels of aggressive and risky driving than females. Crucially, the SEM analysis confirmed that trait driving anger mediates the relationship between “Workaholism” and dangerous driving behaviors. This means that workaholic tendencies increase the likelihood of dangerous driving indirectly by elevating a driver’s propensity for anger. The findings suggest that lifestyle, particularly work-related stress and engagement, is a significant antecedent to dangerous driving in China, operating through the mechanism of driving anger. This highlights the importance of considering psychological and lifestyle factors beyond immediate traffic conditions when addressing road safety. The study also contributes to the field by validating a specific factor structure for the DAS in a Chinese sample, providing a reliable tool for future research on driving anger in this cultural context.

Key finding

Workaholism is positively associated with aggressive, risky, and negative emotion cognition driving, and this relationship is mediated by trait driving anger.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 332

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• anger road rage
• sensation seeking
• aggressive driving
• personality driving
• cultural cross national

Information type

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• Theoretical Contribution: theory or model