The need for research in the field of transport psychology in Bulgaria has become more tangible in recent years, due to both the increased public intolerance to aggressive driving and the very high number of injuries and fatalities in road accidents in the country. The main objective of this study is to investigate the interconnection between Driving style, Traffic locus of control, and the Impulsivity in Bulgarian drivers. A research is conducted in order to examine the relations between the constructs in Bulgarian sample (n = 456, male = 204; female = 252; average age = 37). The results show that there are significant correlations between impulsivity and all driving styles. Positive correlations were found with the maladaptive driving styles, while the adaptive driving style was negatively associated with impulsivity. Correlations between the traffic locus of control and the driving styles were also found. These results provide a very good opportunity for further research in this area as well as for the development of prevention and training programs in the field of road safety.

This article utilizes a symbolic interactionist approach in an investigation of perceived parenting during early adulthood. The aim is to explore the family environment and family relationships in the light of how parenting is constructed through the interaction of parents with their children and with society. The findings from semi-structured interviews conducted with adult volunteer respondents concerning their recollections of their relations with their parents are summarized. This provides the basis for outlining subjective experiences of the social environment and perceived parenting styles from a retrospective point of view in respect to gender and age differentiation.

The quality of drivers’ performance is one of the crucial components related to road safety. One of the key cognitive characteristics related to the ability to drive safely are executive functions. The main goal of the presented research is to propose a new method (Trace-route task) for assessment of executive functions in drivers. The present article discusses the results of two consecutive studies. Study one aims to determine the validity and reliability of the method used and includes 134 participants, equally divided in two groups—people with disturbances in executive functions and people from the general population. Study two aims to assess the ability of the method to distinguish drivers with risky behavior. It includes 1440 participants divided in two groups—people with and without actual risky driving behavior. The results from the studies show that people with different neurological or psychiatric diseases and drivers with different road violations demonstrate worse planning ability, working memory, decision making, and cognitive flexibility. This data show that the trace-route task method is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing executive functions and has the ability to distinguish people with risky driving behavior from those who drive safely. This study reveals that the proposed method can be used for implementation in the area of traffic psychology.

Road safety is one of the main priorities for the European Union. Different strategies and policies strive to increase the level of road safety across Europe and although this level has increased in the last couple of years the number of injuries and fatalities resulting from traffic accidents is still very high. The multidimensional driving style inventory (MDSI) is a self-reported instrument for the assessment of a person’s habitual driving style and its connection to risky driving behaviour and involvement in different traffic accidents. The instrument was originally developed in Israel and there are several previous adaptations in different countries such as Argentina and Romania. The main objective of this study is to develop a valid and reliable version of the MDSI in Bulgaria. A study was conducted to evaluate the construction validity of the instrument and to test the validity of the factors in a Bulgarian sample (n = 456, male = 204; female = 252; average age = 37). Eight factors representing a specific driving style—dissociative, anxious, risky, angry, high-velocity, distress reduction, patient and careful and irrational—identified by previous versions of the MDSI are included in this study. The overall number of items in the inventory is 57 with Cronbach’s alpha = 0.78. The current study in Bulgaria confirmed the structural organization of the initial version of the inventory. The results of the conducted study supported the reliability and validity of the Bulgarian version of the MDSI. The possible implementation of the instrument for the development of different programs for preventions and interventions is discussed here within.

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