Happiness as a Driver of Risk‐avoiding Behaviour: Theory and an Empirical Study of Seatbelt Wearing and Automobile Accidents

Goudie, Robert J. B.; Mukherjee, Sach; Neve, Jan‐Emmanuel De; Oswald, Andrew J.; Wu, Stephen

doi:10.1111/ecca.12094

Cited by 38 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 92 publications

(130 reference statements)

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“…Previous studies have focused on how people’s satisfaction in life influences risky choices in certain contexts. For example, Goudie et al [ 33 ] used American seatbelt data to demonstrate that happier people are less attracted to risk-taking. Column (2) shows the estimation results with an added indicator variable for respondents’ self-reported happiness level.…”

Section: Empirical Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers’ Risk Preferences in Rural China: Measurements and Determinants

Jia

Gong

et al. 2017

IJERPH

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This study measures farmers’ risk attitudes in rural China using a survey instrument and a complementary experiment conducted in the field with the same sample of subjects. Using a question asking people about their willingness to take risks “in general”, we found that the average response of our sample is slightly risk averse. Farmers’ exogenous factors (age, gender, and height) and self-reported happiness have a significant impact on farmers’ willingness to take risks. The experiment results show that approximately 44% of farmers in the study area are risk averse. We compare farmers’ self-reported measures of risk preferences derived from the survey instrument to preferences elicited through the experimental task. Results show that answers to the general risk attitude question in the survey can predict farmers’ behaviors in the experiment to a statistically significant degree. This paper can contribute to the empirical literature on comparing local farmers’ risk attitudes across different risk preference measurement methods in the developing world.

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Section: Empirical Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers’ Risk Preferences in Rural China: Measurements and Determinants

Jia

Gong

et al. 2017

IJERPH

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“…We also asked students about frequency of seatbelt use (always, mostly, sometimes, rarely, never) because seatbelt-wearing has a well-established relationship to motor vehicle-related risk- taking. 20,30 The distribution was heavily skewed towards always wearing a seatbelt, so this variable was dichotomized to measure whether or not participants always wear their seat belts.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marijuana-Using Drivers, Alcohol-Using Drivers, and Their Passengers

2014

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Importance Driving after marijuana use increases the risk of a motor vehicle crash. Understanding this behavior among young drivers and how it may differ from alcohol-related driving behaviors could inform prevention efforts. Objective To describe prevalence, sex differences, and risk factors associated with underage college students’ driving after using marijuana, driving after drinking alcohol, or riding with a driver using these substances. Design, Setting, Participants Cross-sectional telephone survey of a random sample of 315 first-year college students (aged 18-20 years) from 2 large public universities, who were participating in an ongoing longitudinal study. At recruitment, 52.8% of eligible individuals consented to participate; retention was 93.2% one year later when data for this report was collected. Main Outcome Measure(s) Self-reported past-28-day driving after marijuana use, riding with a marijuana-using driver, driving after alcohol use, and riding with an alcohol-using driver. Results In the prior month, 20.3% of students had used marijuana. Among marijuana-using students, 43.9% of males and 8.7% of females drove after using marijuana (p<0.001) and 51.2% of male and 34.8% of female students rode as a passenger with a marijuana-using driver (p=0.21). Most students (65.1%) drank alcohol, and among this group 12.0% of male students and 2.7% of female students drove after drinking (p=0.01), with 20.7% and 11.5% (p=0.07), respectively, reporting riding with a drinking driver. Controlling for demographics and substance use behaviors, driving after substance use was associated with at least a 2-fold increase in risk of being a passenger with another user; the reverse was also true. A 1% increase in the reported percentage of friends using marijuana was associated with a 2% increased risk of riding with a marijuana using driver (95% CI=1.01-1.03). Among students using any substances, past 28-day use of only marijuana was associated with a 6.24-fold increased risk of driving after substance use compared to using only alcohol (95% CI=1.89-21.7). Conclusions and Relevance Driving and riding after marijuana use is common among underage, marijuana-using college students. This is concerning given recent legislation that may increase marijuana availability.

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“…Friedman & Ryff (2012) Life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect were all related to body mass index and smoking in the expected directions, but exercise frequency was not significantly associated with them. Goudie et al (2014) Happier individuals tend to avoid risk-taking behavior while driving, such as not wearing seat belts. Grant, Wardle, & Steptoe (2009) Across 21 nations life satisfaction was related to more exercise and less smoking, eating fruit and limiting fat intake, and using sun protection, with the first two being consistent across regions and the latter ones showing differences.…”

Section: Citationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

If, Why, and When Subjective Well-Being Influences Health, and Future Needed Research

Diener¹

2017

Preprint

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We review evidence on whether subjective well-being (SWB) can influence health, why it might do so, and what we know about the conditions where this is more or less likely to occur. This review also explores how various methodological approaches inform the study of the connections between subjective well-being and health and longevity outcomes. Our review of this growing literature indicates areas where data are substantial and where much more research is needed. We conclude that SWB can sometimes influence health, and review a number of reasons why it does so. A key open question is when it does and does not do so -in terms of populations likely to be affected, types of SWB that are most influential (including which might be harmful), and types of health and illnesses that are most likely to be affected. We also describe additional types of research that are now much needed in this burgeoning area of interest, for example, cross-cultural studies, animal research, and experimental interventions designed to raise long-term SWB and assess the effects on physical health. This research area is characterized both by potentially extremely important findings, and also by pivotal research issues and questions.

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Happiness as a Driver of Risk‐avoiding Behaviour: Theory and an Empirical Study of Seatbelt Wearing and Automobile Accidents

Cited by 38 publications

References 92 publications

Farmers’ Risk Preferences in Rural China: Measurements and Determinants

Farmers’ Risk Preferences in Rural China: Measurements and Determinants

Marijuana-Using Drivers, Alcohol-Using Drivers, and Their Passengers

If, Why, and When Subjective Well-Being Influences Health, and Future Needed Research

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