Do mobile phone addiction, boredom proneness, and self-reported mindfulness predict pedestrian beliefs on distracted walking?

Abstract

Pedestrian distraction is a major causal factor reported in pedestrian fatalities worldwide. Even though many observational studies and laboratory-based research have been conducted to examine the influence of pedestrian distraction on road safety, there is little understanding of the determinants of pedestrian beliefs that influence distracted walking behaviour. The present study examines the associations of pedestrian beliefs related to engagement in mobile phone distraction with psychological factors such as mobile phone addiction, boredom proneness, and mindfulness. Five hundred and fifty-one participants completed a questionnaire about their distraction beliefs (behavioural, normative, and control), mobile phone addiction, boredom proneness, and mindfulness. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was developed to investigate the influence of mobile phone addiction, boredom proneness, and mindfulness on the three types of beliefs. Mobile phone addiction was significantly associated with behavioural beliefs (factor loading = 0.38) and control beliefs (factor loading = 0.23) but not with normative beliefs. Further, significant associations of boredom proneness were observed with all three types of beliefs: behavioural (factor loading = 0.15), normative (factor loading = 0.13), and control (factor loading = 0.15). Mindfulness showed significant relationships with normative beliefs (factor loading = 0.13) and control beliefs (factor loading = 0.11) but not with behavioural beliefs. This study is the first attempt to investigate the predictors of pedestrian distraction beliefs in the Indian context. The findings can assist the policymakers in understanding the pedestrian psychology behind their distracted walking behaviour.