(1030)PATTERN OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG COMMERCIAL BUS DRIVERS AND OKADA RIDERS IN IBADAN NIGERIA

摘要

Background: Traffic accidents contribute to injuries, deaths and disability globally, especially indeveloping countries. While most developed countries have data banks for effective road trafficplanning, design and safety, there is a relative paucity of empirical studies in developing countrieswhich especially concentrate on the personal factors and lifestyle of road users. As user-behaviour isan important element in road provision and sustenance, teaching and research ought to factor it inpedagogy.Objectives: WHO (2009)crash statistics comparisons showed Nigeria as the country with the highestrate of fatal road traffic crashes (33.7 deaths per 100,000 population per year)in the world, with youngmen between the ages of 15-44 constituting 62% of all deaths. Drunk-driving has been implicated as amajor cause. An underlying study which examined the patterns of alcohol drinking and psychologicalwellbeing of commercial-drivers and motorbike-carriers in Ibadan metropolis in Nigeria was carried outto: demonstrate how adverse psychological states and drink-driving of road transport users canhamper efforts with road provision and safety;;enhance a more holistic transportation policy;;and,contribute to research informed-teaching.Design of the underlying study: The study was mainly descriptive and adopted a cross-sectionalsurvey design.Method: 285 male volunteers were purposively sampled (consisting of 183 Commercial-drivers and102 motorbike-carriers)and administered measures of socio-demographic factors, as well as theEysenck Personality Inventory and Zung Self-rating Anxiety scale. Data was collected from the major(motor)parks across the city. The study followed all the necessary ethical procedures. Data wereanalysed by descriptive and inferential statistics.Result: The Chi square analysis showed a significant relationship between the two groups of roadtransport users and frequency of drinks: X2 (8, 285)= 49.2;;p<.001). The trend showed thatcommercial-drivers consume unbranded alcohol more than the motorbike-carriers, but moremotorbike-carriers tend to take mixtures of branded and unbranded alcohol than commercial drivers.There were significant inverse relationships between the participants' onset-age of alcoholconsumption and their scores on the neuroticism and anxiety scales. However, a significant positiverelationship was observed between depression and current age.Impact of the findings on pedagogy: Indiscriminate consumption of various alcohol products isfrequent among Nigerian commercial-road-transport-users and this affects their psychopathology.There is a need for the greater enforcement of drink limits and design of programmes that will targetthe psychological wellbeing of commercial road transport users in the Nigerian community. This,coupled with other road safety measures could enhance safety for other road users and commuters. Abroader approach where the providers of infrastructures should understand the behavioural rationaleof users and its impact on the facilities should extend to the classroom. This study therefore supportsthe researchers' concept of Psycon (Psychology in Construction)as a pedagogic initiative. Psyconaims to answer the questions: how can the teaching of behavioural issues be enhanced inconstruction?;;how can cross-disciplinary research by scholars from psychology and constructionimprove the provision and use of public facilities like roads?