Psychometric Adaptation and Validity of the Resistance to Peer Influence Scale Among Young Chinese Drivers and Its Links with Peer Pressure and Risky Driving Behaviours

Risky driving behaviour is closely related to traffic accidents, and the tendency to engage in such behaviour is related to a driver’s ability to resist peer pressure. However, to our knowledge, the relationship between risky driving behaviour and the ability to resist peer pressure among young drivers in China remains unexplored. This study aimed to translate and adapt the Resistance to Peer Influence (RPI) Scale to Chinese drivers and examine whether RPI can moderate the influence of peer pressure on risky driving behaviours. A total of 269 drivers were recruited for this research. These drivers completed the Safe Driving Climate among Friends (SDCaF) Scale, the Peer Pressure on Risky Driving Scale (PPRDS), the RPI Scale and a scale that measured risky driving behaviours. The Chinese version of the RPI scale consists of 10 items and has acceptable reliability. The significant correlations observed among the RPI scale, the SDCaF, the PPRDS and risky driving behaviour indicate that the convergent and discriminant validity of the RPI scale is satisfactory. RPI, friend pressure and shared commitment explained 16.5% of the variance in risky driving behaviour, whereas RPI and risk-encouraging direct peer pressure explained 15.8% of this variance. RPI moderated the relationship between shared commitment and risky driving behaviour. Lower levels of shared commitment combined with low RPI were linked to higher levels of risky driving. RPI also moderated the relationship between risk-encouraging direct peer pressure and risky driving behaviour. Higher levels of risk-encouraging peer pressure were associated with more risky driving regardless of the level of RPI. RPI has acceptable internal consistency and validity and has the potential to serve as a valid tool for assessing and training young drivers in China.