Understanding Risky Behavior in Sustainable Driving among Young Adults: Exploring Social Norms, Emotional Regulation, Perceived Behavioral Control, and Mindfulness

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of a predictive model for risky driving behavior among young adults, focusing on psychological factors such as self-deceptive enhancement, impression management, emotional regulation difficulties, and perceived behavioral control. Additionally, it explores the mediating effect of mindfulness on the relationship between self-deceptive enhancement and risky driving behavior, with an emphasis on sustainable driving practices. Using a nonexperimental, cross-sectional design, the study investigates risky driving behavior among young Romanian drivers through a quantitative methodology. Data were collected from 436 participants using a pretested and adapted set of questionnaires (CR, PDS, ICI, DERS, MAAS). The analysis was conducted with SPSS (version 20) and Hayes’s PROCESS tool. The findings indicate that impression management strongly predicts risky driving behavior. The model’s efficiency differs by gender: for drivers who are men, impression management and perceived behavioral control are crucial predictors, whereas for drivers who are women, impression management and self-deceptive enhancement are more significant. Moreover, the study identifies a significant indirect effect of self-deceptive enhancement on risky driving behavior through mindfulness. Specifically, lower levels of self-deceptive enhancement indirectly reduce risky driving behaviors by fostering mindfulness, which promotes adaptive and sustainable driving styles and consequently encourages safer driving practices.