Psychological Factors Influencing College Students’ Mobile Phone Use While Walking

Abstract

The likelihood of pedestrians exhibiting aberrant walking behaviors and being involved in traffic collisions increases substantially if they are distracted while walking because of using their mobile phones. To reduce the frequency with which pedestrians use their phones while walking, a detailed analysis of the elements that influence this behavior is required. This research studied people’s behavior and behavioral intentions to use mobile phones while walking, using an expanded version of the theory of planned behavior. Four hundred sixty-three college students completed an online survey that assessed attitudes and behaviors related to mobile phone use. The results showed that attitude, perceived behavioral control, mobile phone addiction, crash history, and prototype similarity significantly affected behavioral intentions, whereas subjective norms, descriptive norms, perceived risk, and prototype favorability did not. In addition, behavioral intentions, perceived behavioral control, mobile phone addiction, and crash history had significant impacts on behavior, whereas perceived risk did not. The results from this study could be utilized to develop interventions to reduce the frequency with which college students use their mobile phones while walking, which is essential for improving road safety.