DRIVING GAME PLAYING AS A PREDICTOR OF ADOLESCENTS' UNLICENSED DRIVING IN FLANDERS

The purpose of the current study is to examine whether adolescents' playing of racing and drive'em up games predicts unlicensed driving in Flanders. A longitudinal panel survey (2006, 2008) was executed among a sample of 1,104 adolescent boys and girls (17-18 years old at baseline measurement) in the Flemish region of Belgium. Logistic regression analysis was used in order to examine whether driving game playing predicts self-reported unlicensed driving. The analyses indicated that the odds of having engaged in unlicensed driving were nearly two times greater for moderate players (playing once a week or less) compared to those who never play these games. The odds of being an unlicensed driver were nearly four times greater for those playing at least a few times a week (OR = 3.709) compared to non-players. Playing driving games appears to be a better predictor of unlicensed driving than other variables which one would expect to predict this form of risk taking such as gender, school level, sensation seeking and risk perception.