Young Thai Men Driving Dangerously: A Cross-cultural Validation Study of the Motives for Dangerous Driving Scale (mdds)

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the cross-cultural reliability and validity of the Motives for Dangerous Driving Scale (MDDS) as a multidimensional measurement tool that can tap into different motives underlying dangerous driving among young Thai male drivers. The sample consisted of 300 participants aged between 18 to 28 years. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a three-factor structure underlying the Thai-based MDDS. These three factors represent three major motives for dangerous driving among young Thai male drivers: ‘driving fast/taking risk,’ ‘confidence in one’s driving skills,’ and ‘disrespect for traffic laws. These three factors are highly similar to the three-factor structure identified for the original Australian-based MDDS. Reliability analysis indicated that the three motives for dangerous driving and their 31 representative items are internally consistent based on their computed Cronbach’s alphas and their items’ IT correlations. Tests of both convergent and criterion-related validity support the conclusion that the Thai-based MDDS is valid by these two criteria.