Sense-making of risk and role-taking emotions: how young Swedes construe road traffic risk

Abstract

The aim of this study is to improve our understanding of how young people make sense of traffic risk. The study also aims to contribute to current theory by refining the concept of ‘sense-making of risk’. The focus is to explore, empirically as well as theoretically, how role-taking emotions can contribute to this particular area of research. In order to chart both the sense-making of social interaction and the respondents’ subjective sense of traffic risk, the present study used both in-depth interviews and focus group interviews: the in-depth interviews comprised a total of 11 interviews with as many interviewees, while a total of 36 people were included in the eight focus group interviews. All interviewees were Swedish residents aged between 16 and 20. It is found that by adopting the perspective afforded by theory of emotion, it is possible to deepen our knowledge of individual sense-making of risk. Both primary emotions and role-taking emotions seem to be central to how young Swedes form their understanding of traffic risk. A focus on role-taking emotions reveals the value of indirect social interaction for the individual’s sense-making of risk in general, and adds to our knowledge of the individual’s sense-making of traffic risk in particular.

Keywords:

• sense-making of risk
• role-taking emotions
• road traffic
• young people

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Angelika Sjöstedt-Landén and Jonny Bergman for their comments on an earlier version of this manuscript, and to Charlotte Merton for language support. Also, she is grateful to the interviewees for generously sharing their views and experiences of traffic risk, and the Nordic Road Association and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, which funded the projects of which this study is a part. The views expressed in the paper are my personal views and are not necessarily shared by the financiers.