Despite the dangers associated with drink walking, limited research is currently available regarding the factors which influence individuals to engage in this risky behavior. This study examined the influence of psychosocial factors upon individuals' intentions to drink walk across four experimental scenarios (and a control condition). Specifically, a 2áxá2 repeated measures design was utilized in which all of the scenarios incorporated a risky pedestrian crossing situation (i.e., a pedestrian crossing against a red man signal) but differed according to the level of group identity (i.e., low/strangers and high/friends) and conformity (low and high). Individuals were assessed for their intentions to drink walk within each of these different scenarios. Undergraduate students (Ná=á151), aged 17-30 years, completed a questionnaire. Overall, most of the study's hypotheses were supported with individuals reporting the highest intentions to drink walk when in the presence of friends (i.e., high group identity) and their friends were said to be also crossing against the red man signal (i.e., high conformity). The findings may have significant implications for the design of countermeasures to reduce drink walking. For instance, the current findings would suggest that potentially effective strategies may be to promote resilience to peer influence as well as highlight the negative consequences associated with following the behavior of other intoxicated pedestrians who are crossing against a red signal. (A) Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
Abstract