Driving anxiety related cognitions as mediators: Bridging driver skills and behavioral outcomes among Turkish drivers

Drivers' cognitive appraisals of their performance are significantly associated with their actual driving behaviors, often in ways that remain insufficiently explored. While individuals naturally strive to optimize their driving performance, intrusive cognitions related to performance anxiety, skill uncertainty, accident potential, or causing harm can substantially impair driving acts. Although previous research has predominantly focused on clinical populations with driving phobias or anxiety, these anxiety-laden cognitions affect the general driving population with varying frequency and intensity, shaping everyday driver behavior. This study investigates the mediating role of driving-related cognitions, specifically accident-panic-related concerns and social concerns, in the relationship between self-perceived driving skills and both anxious and aberrant driving behaviors in a sample of 484 Turkish drivers. Results reveal that these concerns significantly mediate the relationships between both perceptual-motor and safety skills and subsequent anxiety-based performance deficits, lapses, and errors. These findings illuminate the complex cognitive mechanisms through which drivers' skill self-appraisals relate to subsequent driving behavior patterns through the mediation of anxiety-related cognitions. The study provides critical insights into the formation of driving errors and lapses, advancing our theoretical understanding of aberrant driving behaviors. More broadly, these results highlight the significant role of cognitive-emotional processes in relation to driver actions, providing insight for interventions aimed at promoting safer driving through cognitive restructuring approaches. These findings underscore the relevance of driving-related cognitions beyond clinical contexts, highlighting their role in shaping everyday driving behavior across the general population.