Teen Drivers with ADHD Symptoms Have More Risky Driving Behaviors
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New research conducted by Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) senior fellow Catherine McDonald, PhD, RN, FAAN, finds drivers with ADHD symptoms are more likely to be involved in a crash. The findings were published in the journal Nursing Research.
Dr. McDonald and her team recruited drivers aged 16 to 17 years old. The drivers were asked to complete a questionnaire which assessed their symptoms of ADHD and other mental health disorders. Following the questionnaire, the teens were then asked to go for a virtual drive in the CIRP Driving Simulator Core. Dr. McDonald found the more inattention symptoms a teen reported, the more mistakes they would make in the driving simulator.
“We would like to learn more about the relationship of mental health symptoms to driving behavior in a sample with higher rates and severity of ADHD so we can examine the impact of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptom severity across the full range of these dimensions,” says McDonald That next step could help move the research toward its ultimate goal: tailoring interventions for teens drivers at risk in different ways.
Contact: The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,
