Investigating Students’ Responses to the RACQ Docudrama Program

1. Investigating Students’ Responses to the RACQ Docudrama Program Ioni Lewis1, Judy Fleiter1, and Julie Smith2 1 CARRS-Q, 2RACQ Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC), Gold Coast 14-16 October 2015 CRICOS No. 00213J

2. Theoretical Frameworks • Social psychological theories of health behaviour change and persuasion • Key Outcomes: Intentions and Willingness • Frameworks identified key constructs to investigate • e.g., Will perceived behavioural control increase, given the program’s focus on empowering students?

3. Research Design • Between groups design: • Each school allocated to one group only • Data collected from each school at one time point only • 3 Groups • “Differences between groups over different time points” rather than “changes in individuals over time” • Control group offered important baseline measures

4. Research Design & Method RACQ Docudrama Program Delivered by RACQ to Year 11 & 12 students at 30+ Qld High Schools that had requested program Questionnaire administered at 5 schools in class time Total returned = 270 (260 useable; Males = 78 Females = 182) Students aged 15 – 18 years, M age = 16.34 years, SD = 0.67 years Control Group 1 School hosting program for 1st time Hard copy questionnaire administered to students prior to participating in Docudrama n = 86 (39 males, 47 females) M = 16.33 years, SD = 0.63 years Intervention Groups 4 Schools hosting the program Hard copy questionnaire either: Immediately after participating in Docudrama OR 4-8 days after participating n = 174 (39 males, 135 females) M = 16.36 years, SD = 0.73 years

5. Research Hypotheses • Determine extent to which the Docudrama program was associated with positive effects on students’ intentions to speak up to a speeding driver: • Intentions higher in the Intervention groups vs. Control group? • Intentions vary over time and, in particular, whether the effects of the Docudrama program may remain approx. one week later? • Identify factors which predict individual’s intentions to speak up • To provide insight into how the Docudrama program may be influencing intentions • Determine whether students’ level of reported fear decreased over the 3 program parts (Intervention groups only)

6. Materials & Procedure • Ethics approvals + School-based approvals • Key outcome measures:

7. Measures

8. Key Findings(based on overall sample) Outcome = Intention to speak up…

9. Intentions to tell a friend who is speeding to slow down Scored on 5-point scale. Higher scores = Stronger Intentions; p <.001 Both Intervention groups significantly different to the Control group but not significantly different from each other

10. Of note - Additional Outcomes • Evidence of positive effects and of effects remaining over time across various measures • Intervention groups significantly different than the control on most outcome measures • Intervention-Immediate and Intervention-Delayed did not significantly differ • Intentions to adopt Docudrama program’s recommendations Willingness as passenger to speak up (for each Fatal 5) Intentions to speak up to driver using phone Willingness as driver to NOT engage in Fatal 5 Willingness to enact positive strategies

11. Key Findings(based on overall sample) Predictors of Intentions to speak up…

12. Predicting Intentions - Extended TPBIntervention Groups Intentions to tell a friend who is speeding to slow down

13. Predicting Intentions - Extended TPBControl Group Intentions to tell a friend who is speeding to slow down

14. Conclusions – Predictors of Intentions as a function of Group Significance as at final step of models

15. Fear and the Docudrama Program’s 3 Parts • Significant difference in levels of fear reported across the program (F(2, 168) = 76.49, p<.001) • Fear was significantly higher at Part 1 than at Parts 2 and 3 • Fear was significantly lowest at Part 3 than at Parts 1 and 2

16. Strengths & Limitations • Theoretically informed • Comprehensive array of outcome measures (showing consistent findings) • Inclusion of a Control Group But... • Only 5 Schools (despite best efforts) • Self-report • Between groups comparisons (differences rather than changes over time) • Outcomes not actual behaviour, driving violations/crashes

17. Recommendations Future Research • Replicate current findings • Repeated measures (+ Control) • Extended sampling (more schools + more males) • Longitudinal follow-up (+ behavioural measures)

18. Recommendations Future Practice • Maintain focus on identifying strategies • Maintain ordering of the Docudrama program’s 3 parts • Fear reduces as the program proceeds • Anticipated regret

19. Acknowledgements • RACQ • David Terry, Karen Bradberry, & David Contarini • Participating high schools, staff and students • QUT 4th year Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology students • Andrew Kennedy, Brodie Cullen, Dianne Firman • CARRS-Q Senior Research Officers • Amy Schramm, Tanya Smyth, David Soole Lewis, I., Fleiter, J., Kennedy, A., Cullen, B., Firman, D., & Smyth, T. (2014). Investigating students’ responses to the RACQ Docudrama Program: Study background, methods, results, and some recommendations. Report prepared for the RACQ. (Unpublished).

20. Comments/Questions? i.lewis@qut.edu.au j.fleiter@qut.edu.au Julie.Smith2@racq.com.au CALL FOR ABSTRACTS Closing 9 November! CRICOS No. 00213J