Examining the utility of the social norm approach in reducing young drivers hand-held phone use while driving

Hand-held phone use while driving is a prevalent behaviour in young drivers. Therefore, it is important to explore the use of novel approaches in reducing this behaviour among this cohort. The social norm approach suggests behaviour change can be encouraged by providing information on others’ engagement in, and approval of, a behaviour. Yet, the social norm approach has received limited attention in road safety. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine whether the approach could reduce young drivers’ self-reported engagement in hand-held phone use while driving over time. A 3 (time: baseline, post-intervention, follow-up) × 3 (message: social norm [n = 27], active control [n = 27], non-active control [n = 29]) mixed-factorial design was conducted, involving 83 young drivers residing in Queensland, Australia. In the social norm group and fear-based group (active control), approval of hand-held phone use while driving significantly reduced, as well as perceptions of others’ (of the same age and gender) engagement in the behaviour, at a one-week (for the social norm message only) and one-month follow-up (revealing medium-to-large effect sizes). Further, perceptions of others’ (of the same age and gender and of the same age) approval of the behaviour reduced in the social norm group. Finally, self-reported engagement in hand-held phone use while driving significantly reduced across the sample, yet did not vary between groups.