Émotions et prise de risque chez les automobilistes camerounais

Abstract

Road accidents are a public health concern. Every year, they cause more than a million deaths and over 54 million injuries and lifelong disabilities worldwide (WHO, 2022). Low- and middle-income countries, with around 60% of the vehicle fleet, account for almost 93% of fatalities, with working people (15-64) the worst affected. This is the case in Cameroon, where despite the measures (regulatory provisions and preventive actions) put in place by the organizations in charge of road safety and prevention in an attempt to reduce the scale of this phenomenon, the number of road deaths continues to rise (MINT, 2021). These accidents are essentially caused by a combination of factors that distract the individual and interfere with driving activity (Strayer et al., 2014; Dahlen et al., 2005; Underwood et al., 1999). Several studies point out that among the distractors often mentioned (telephone, alcohol, beliefs, etc.), emotions occupy an important place (Dahlen et al., 2005; Underwood et al., 1999). The present thesis investigated the effects of emotions on risk-taking among Cameroonian motorists. To this end, we conducted three studies. The first study involved semi-directive interviews with 21 motorists, the emotions felt at the wheel, the situations that generate them, the underlying behaviors and the strategies for regulating these emotions as reported by the motorists. The results of the content analysis revealed that four emotions are present in Cameroonian drivers: anger, anxiety, fear and joy. They are generated by a range of situations and induce a range of behaviors in the driving context. Drivers also reported developing strategies to regulate their emotions at the wheel: this is the case of emotional intelligence. The second survey had a dual objective. The first was to identify the contribution of each of the emotions identified in the first study to risk-taking. It was carried out on a sample of 289 motorists (183 men) selected using the convenience method. Correlations showed the various links between negative emotions and risk-taking. Regressions extracted anger as the emotion most related to risk-taking in the Cameroonian context. The aim of the third study was to test the moderating effect of emotional intelligence (an emotion regulation strategy identified in the participants of the first study) on the relationship between anger, which emerged as the dominant emotion in the second study, and risk-taking at the wheel. The study involved 260 motorists aged between 20 and 50, including 137 women, and was based on a composite questionnaire (anger, EI and risk-taking scales). Correlation results showed positive and significant relationships between EI and anger, EI and emotional intelligence, and anger and risk-taking. Furthermore, moderation results showed that emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between anger and road risk-taking in Cameroonian motorists.