Aggressive/hostile personality traits and injury accidents: an eight-year prospective study of a large cohort of French employees -- the GAZEL cohort.
BACKGROUND
Aggressiveness on the roads and/or anger behind the wheel are considered to be a major traffic safety problem in several countries. However, the psychological mechanisms of anger and/or aggression on the roads remain largely unclear. This study examines a large cohort of French employees followed over the period 1994-2001 to establish whether psychometric measures of aggression/hostility were significantly associated with an increased risk of an injury accident (I-A). An I-A was defined as a traffic accident in which someone was injured, that is required medical care.


METHODS
A total of 11,754 participants aged from 39 to 54 years in 1993 were included in this study. Aggression/hostility was measured in 1993 using the French version of the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI). Driving behaviors and I-A were recorded in 2001. Sociodemographic and alcohol consumption data were available from annual follow-up of the cohort. The relationship between aggression/hostility scores and I-A was assessed using negative binomial regression models with time-dependent covariates.


RESULTS
The overall BDHI scoring was not statistically predictive of subsequent I-A: adjusted rate ratio (aRR) 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81-1.28, for participants with intermediate scores and aRR 1.25, 95% CI 0.98-1.61 for those with high scores, both compared to those with low scores. The only BDHI subscales found to be associated with I-A were 'irritability' (aRR 1.33, 95% CI 1.02-1.75 for participants with high scores) and 'negativism' (aRR 1.32, 95% CI 1.01-1.71 for participants with high scores).


CONCLUSIONS
Overall aggression/hostility personality traits did not predict I-A in this large cohort of French employees, suggesting that aggressiveness on the roads and/or anger behind the wheel extend beyond the individual's general propensity for aggression.
Nabi
Hermann
H
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM, U687, Saint-Maurice, F-94415 France. Hermann.Nabi@st-maurice.inserm.fr
Consoli
Silla M
SM
Chiron
Mireille
M
Lafont
Sylviane
S
Chastang
Jean François
JF
Zins
Marie
M
Lagarde
Emmanuel
E
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*