Predicting reported seat belt use from attitudinal and normative factors

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine whether both attitudinal and normative factors would make unique contributions to the prediction of self-reported seat belt use in an area where seat belt use is compulsory. Two samples of drivers were interviewed concerning their attitudes toward seat belt use and the seat belt legislation, social influence of others, reported belt usage and demographic information. The results for the first sample ( N = 445) indicated that attitude toward the seat belt legislation, attitude toward seat belts, social pressure and perceived belt use in the community jointly predicted reported belt use ( R = 0.69). The correlation between predicted belt use and reported belt use ( r = 0.57) in the crossvalidation sample ( N = 438) was close to the multiple correlation obtained for the first sample. The implications of these results for promoting seat belt use are discussed.