The Driving Cognitions Questionnaire: development and preliminary psychometric properties

J Anxiety Disord. 2007;21(4):493-509. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.08.002. Epub 2006 Sep 18.

Abstract

Recent research has suggested that fear of driving is common in the general population. People may have various concerns when driving, and instruments for the assessment of these concerns are lacking. The present paper describes the development and preliminary evaluation of the Driving Cognitions Questionnaire (DCQ). The DCQ is a 20-item scale that measures three areas of driving-related concerns--panic-related, accident-related, and social concerns. In three separate samples from different countries (n=69, 100, and 78), the scale showed good internal consistency and substantial correlations with measures of the severity of driving fear. It discriminated well between people with and without driving phobia. It also showed convergent validity with other measures. The questionnaire shows promise for use in research and clinical practice.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Traffic / psychology
  • Agoraphobia / psychology
  • Automobile Driving / psychology*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cognition*
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Panic Disorder / psychology
  • Phobic Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Phobic Disorders / psychology*
  • Psychological Tests*
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology