Narcissistic symptoms among Iranian outer-city bus drivers.

Background: Although very few studies have investigated the association of narcissistic symptoms and aggressive driving, very little is known about association of narcissism and serious traffic outcomes such as crash and serious violation of traffic laws. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an association between the narcissistic symptoms of professional bus drivers and high risk driving records or crash.

Methods: A total of 200 outer-city bus drivers were enrolled in 2018 from Tehran origin of trips. The narcissistic symptoms of drivers were assessed using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory-16 (NPI-16). The traffic police databases were searched for records of crashes or recorded negative traffic scores during a 3-year period prior to time of interviews. Data were analyzed using Stata 14 statistical software package.

Results: Mean age of the participants was 44.4 years with a standard deviation of 9.3 years. Fourteen drivers (7%) had a crash history over the past three years. Mean normalized narcissism score was 22.3 among those without a crash history over the past three years versus 18.8 among those with a crash history without statistical significance. Forty-four drivers (22%) had a negative traffic scoring record due to high risk traffic violations registered in police database over the past three years. Mean normalized narcissism score was 22 among those without negative score record over the past three years versus 22.3 among those with a negative score history. However, the difference was not found to be statistically significant.

Conclusions: The findings of present study does not support an association between crash risk or being a recorded high risk driver and narcissism levels. However, considering the complex risk profile of road traffic crashes, much larger studies are needed to rule it out.