The accident-prone automobile driver; a study of the psychiatric and social background.
01 Nov 1949-American Journal of Psychiatry (American Psychiatric Publishing)-Vol. 106, Iss: 5, pp 321-331
TL;DR: In this study the existence of accidentprone drivers has been demonstrated in the records of accidents from a bus company extending over a period of 6 years and because of their high accident rate their importance in contributing accidents far exceeds their numbers.
Abstract: In this study the existence of accidentprone drivers has been demonstrated in the records of accidents from a bus company extending over a period of 6 years. The frequency of appearance of the same individual in the high accident group in multiple years has been noted. It has been shown that because of their high accident rate their importance in contributing accidents far exceeds their numbers. In other words, a few drivers account for a disproportionate number of accidents year after year. A group of high and low accident drivers in a taxi firm have been interviewed and the differences in the personality and background of the 2 groups have been noted. It has been demonstrated that the high accident taxi driver most frequently comes from a home marked by parental divorce and instability. During childhood his life is marked by evidence of instability and disrespect for organized authority. As a result he has often encountered difficulty with the school authority and frequently has been before the Juvenile...
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TL;DR: Experimental and quasi-experimental studies suggest that social isolation is a major risk factor for mortality from widely varying causes and the mechanisms through which social relationships affect health remain to be explored.
Abstract: Recent scientific work has established both a theoretical basis and strong empirical evidence for a causal impact of social relationships on health. Prospective studies, which control for baseline health status, consistently show increased risk of death among persons with a low quantity, and sometimes low quality, of social relationships. Experimental and quasi-experimental studies of humans and animals also suggest that social isolation is a major risk factor for mortality from widely varying causes. The mechanisms through which social relationships affect health and the factors that promote or inhibit the development and maintenance of social relationships remain to be explored.
7,669 citations
TL;DR: Life-style differences associated with differential exposure to situations that have a high risk for traumatic events and personal predispositions to the PTSD effects of traumatic events might be responsible for a substantial part of PTSD in this population.
Abstract: \s=b\To ascertain the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and risk factors associated with it, we studied a random sample of 1007 young adults from a large health maintenance organization in the Detroit, Mich, area. The lifetime prevalence of exposure to traumatic events was 39.1%. The rate of PTSD in those who were exposed was 23.6%, yielding a lifetime prevalence in the sample of 9.2%. Persons with PTSD were at increased risk for other psychiatric disorders; PTSD had stronger associations with anxiety and affective disorders than with substance abuse or dependence. Risk factors for exposure to traumatic events included low education, male sex, early conduct problems, extraversion, and family history of psychiatric disorder or substance problems. Risk factors for PTSD following exposure included early separation from parents, neuroticism, preexisting anxiety or depression, and family history of anxiety. Life-style differences associated with differential exposure to situations that have a high risk for traumatic events and personal predispositions to the PTSD effects of traumatic events might be responsible for a substantial part of PTSD in this population. (Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1991 ;48:216-222)
2,428 citations
TL;DR: I count myself honored indeed to be included among those who have been chosen to present this, the Wade Hampton Frost Lecture, and for this I must thank my very wise chief, Dr. Sidney L. Kark, who introduced me to the papers, particularly the section on tuberculosis.
2,051 citations
Cites background from "The accident-prone automobile drive..."
...A remarkably similar set of social circumstances characterizes people who develop tuberculosis (16) and schizophrenia (17, 18), become alcoholics (19), are victims of multiple accidents (20), or commit suicide (21)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the characteristics of strainful events and conditions that influence their relationship to crime are described, and it is predicted that some types of strain will not be related to crime, including types that have dominated the research on strain theory.
Abstract: General strain theory (GST) is usually tested by examining the effect of strain on crime. Researchers, however, have little guidance when it comes to selecting among the many hundreds of types of strain and have trouble explaining why only some of them are related to crime. This article builds on GST by describing the characteristics of strainful events and conditions that influence their relationship to crime. Strains are said to be most likely to result in crime when they (1) are seen as unjust, (2) are seen as high in magnitude, (3) are associated with low social control, and (4) create some pressure or incentive to engage in criminal coping. Drawing on these characteristics, it is predicted that some types of strain will not be related to crime, including types that have dominated the research on strain theory, and that others will be related to crime, including types that have been neglected by empirical researchers.
1,346 citations
TL;DR: An attempt has been made to conceptually integrate the available evidence with respect to the role of human behavior in the causation of road accidents to show that the accident rate is ultimately dependent on one factor only, the target level of risk in the population concerned.
Abstract: No strategy for countermeasure design or future directions of research in the areas of human behavior which leads to traffic accidents or lifestyle-related diseases can be rationally developed without an acceptable working theory of human behavior in these domains. For this purpose, an attempt has been made to conceptually integrate the available evidence with respect to the role of human behavior in the causation of road accidents. From this integrative effort it would seem that the accident rate is ultimately dependent on one factor only, the target level of risk in the population concerned which acts as the reference variable in a homeostatic process relating accident rate to human motivation. Various policy tactics for the purpose of modifying this target level of risk have been pointed out and the theory of risk homeostasis has been speculatively extended to the areas of lifestyle-dependent morbidity and mortality.
1,025 citations