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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Assessing individual differences in driving inattention: Adaptation and validation of the Attention-Related Driving Errors Scale to Spain

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description

The Attention-Related Driving Errors Scale (ARDES) is a self-reported questionnaire to assess individual differences in the proneness to make attentional errors while driving. The aims of the current work are to adapt the original Argentinean version of the ARDES to the culture, language, traffic regulations and driving habits of Spain and provide new validity evidence of the cross-cultural equivalence of the scale. In the first step of the validation process, five external independent experts reviewed the original ARDES-Argentina and proposed modifications, adapted to the culture, language, traffic regulations and driving habits in Spain. Secondly, a sample of 320 drivers completed the adapted questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and psychometric properties (corrected item-total correlation, Cronbach’s alpha and factor structure) were performed on the data. Besides, in order to obtain further validity evidence, the relationships between the questionnaire scores and socio-demographic variables (age, sex, educational level, driving experience, crash involvement and traffic fines received) were analyzed. Factor analysis suggested a single factor that exceeded the parallel analysis criterion and accounted for 32.70% of the total variance. All items showed positive loadings on this factor, ranging from .41 to .72. The corrected item-total correlation values extend from .41 to .60, indicating that the items had good discrimination power. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient value was .88. The analysis of the relationships between ARDES-Spain scores and socio-demographic variables provided further validity evidence of the appropriateness of the adapted questionnaire. In particular, differences in ARDES-Spain scores were found between drivers who reported traffic collisions with material damage and participants who did not. In conclusion, results in the current study suggest that the adapted version of the ARDES is a useful tool for evaluating the proneness to attentional errors during driving in the Spanish population. Future studies adapting the questionnaire to other countries with different languages, cultures, traffic regulations and driving habits are encouraged in order to expand the discussion on the cross-cultural equivalence of the ARDES.