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Individual and contextual factors contributing in geographical variations in risk-behaviour among young adults in Norway. Sveinung Eiksund Research fellow, Department of Geography, NTNU Trondheim Presentation at the SRA-E 15th Annual Conference

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  1. Individual and contextual factors contributing in geographical variations in risk-behaviour among young adults in Norway. Sveinung Eiksund Research fellow, Department of Geography, NTNU Trondheim Presentation at the SRA-E 15th Annual Conference ‘Innovation and Technical Progress: Benefit without Risk?’ Ljubljana, Slovenia. 11th – 13th September 2006

  2. Outline • Background and objectives • Traffic accident risk • Traffic accident patterns in Norway • Research methods • Results • Conclusions

  3. Background • Traffic risk is an important health risk • Increased leisure time motorization, a consequence of wealth in an affluent society • Strong focus on risk-reducing strategies in Norway • Risit: Part of a extensive research programme on risk and safety in transport financed by the Norwegian Research Council • Objective of this study: • describe differences in risk-culture affecting behaviour in traffic • approach high risk groups more efficient with risk reducing measures

  4. Traffic accident risk • Causes and risk factors • Explanations to differences in risk can be related to: • Physical-geographical • Socio-economical • Socio-cultural • Road traffic accident risk can be divided into • System risk related to physical environment, the vehicles and the road systems (underlying risk) • Risk related to perceptions, behaviour and attitudes (culture) • Risk-taking behaviour as risk-factors

  5. Norway

  6. Map 1: Average rate for the period 1998 – 2004.

  7. Urban population

  8. Map 2: Average rate for the period 1998 – 2004.

  9. Road traffic and young people • Many studies have shown highest rates for killed and serious injured in rural areas especially for young adults • Higher rates in rural areas can relate to • Longer distances and higher speed limits • Less access to public transport • Driving as leisure time activity • Higher rates for young people in general can be related to • Less experience / more mistakes • Higher risk tolerance and sensation seeking • Attitudes • Risk behaviour and peers risk behaviour

  10. Road traffic and young people • Many studies have shown highest rates for killed and serious injured in rural areas especially for young adults • Higher rates in rural areas can relate to • Longer distances and higher speed limits • Less access to public transport • Driving as leisure time activity • Higher rates for young people in general can be related to • Less experience / more mistakes • Higher risk tolerance and sensation seeking • Attitudes • Risk behaviour and peers risk behaviour

  11. Research methods • Questionnaire survey from 2004 among young adults aged 19-24 from (N=677) • 7 municipalities (predefined as 2 urban, 3 peri-urban, 2 rural) • Response rate 47 % • Regression models • Dependent variables • Self-reported speeding violations • Self-reported non-use of seat belts • Control variables • Age, Sex, Education • Independent variables • Attitudes (towards speeding and traffic rules and risk taking) • Behaviour in peer group (friends “accident history”) • Driving as a leisure time activity

  12. Self-reported speeding violations • Answered by 477 respondents (with drivers licence) • Measured with 4 specific questions on a scale 1 (never) – 5 (very often) • Average scores calculated for each individual • Geographical gradient

  13. Self-reported speeding violations

  14. Self-reported speeding violations

  15. Self-reported speeding violations

  16. Self-reported non-use of seat belts • Answered by 505 respondents • Measured with 2 specific questions on a scale 1 (never) – 5 (very often) • Average scores calculated for each individual • Geographical gradient • Skewed distribution in dependent variable: Dichotomized

  17. Self-reported non-use of seat belts

  18. Self-reported non-use of seat belts

  19. Self-reported non-use of seat belts

  20. Conclusions • There is a urban – rural pattern in traffic self-reported risk-taking behaviour among young adults. • Attitudes, behaviour in peer groups and driving as leisure time activity contributes to explain variation in risk-behaviour in traffic. • The urban-rural gradient in risk-behaviour is partly explained by the individual and contextual factors included in this study. • Reduction of risk related to risk-taking behaviour can be targeted through enforcement or changes in attitudes towards road traffic safety. • The higher risk-behaviour in rural areas seems to be part of strongly rooted cultures closely related to a rural lifestyle. Working towards changing this behaviour will probably challenge a rural lifestyle more than the urban.

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