Motives for driving after cannabis use: A scoping review

Abstract

ContextUnderstanding the motives for driving after cannabis use (DACU) is crucial to improve road safety and develop effective prevention programs to reduce this behavior. ObjectiveTo synthesize and categorize motives for DACU reported in the scientific literature, using the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) as a basis for motive classification and conceptualization. MethodThis scoping review followed the methodological guidelines proposed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), Levac et al. (2010) and the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (Tricco et al., 2018). The algorithms used to extract relevant information about the motives for DACU in the scientific literature were designed for Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and PsycINFO search engines. To be included in the review, articles had to describe motives for cannabis use as the main substance used before driving a non-commercial road motor vehicle. Any psychological justification or conscious reason was considered as a motive. A total of 30 articles were selected. A descriptive quantitative analysis and a thematic qualitative analysis were used to synthesize the results. ResultsThe studies mainly originated from the USA (k = 14), Canada (k = 6), Australia (k = 6), the UK (k = 3) and Spain (k = 1). Thirty-two motives for DACU have been classified into six themes: (1) general risk perception; (2) driving is seen as the only possible option; (3) low risk given the road or traffic conditions; (4) risk-seeking; (5) possibility to compensate for the effect of cannabis and (6) subjective norms (i.e., perception if DACU is approved or committed by others). Risk perception was by far the most frequently reported motive. ImplicationsPrevention programs could greatly benefit from a better understanding of the motives for DACU. Increasing risk awareness appears to be one of the main objectives in addition to providing efficient alternative means of transport and development of prevention initiatives tailored for cannabis users.