Citation

Pope CN, Ross LA, Stavrinos D. J. Dev. Behav. Pediatr. 2016; 37(9): 702-711.

Affiliation

*Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL; †Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The College of Health and Human Development, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/DBP.0000000000000353

PMID

27661394

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are one of the leading causes of injury and death for adolescents. Driving is a complex activity that is highly reliant on executive function (EF) to safely navigate through the environment. Little research has examined the efficacy of using self-reported EF measures for assessing adolescent driving risk. This study examined the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) questionnaire and performance-based EF tasks as potential predictors of problematic driving outcomes in adolescents.

METHODS: Forty-six adolescent drivers completed the (1) BRIEF, (2) Trail Making Test, (3) Backwards Digit Span, and (4) self-report on 3 problematic driving outcomes: the number of times of having been pulled over by a police officer, the number of tickets issued, and the number of MVCs.

RESULTS: Greater self-reported difficulty with planning and organization was associated with greater odds of having a MVC, whereas inhibition difficulties were associated with greater odds of receiving a ticket. Greater self-reported difficulty across multiple BRIEF subscales was associated with greater odds of being pulled over.

CONCLUSION: Overall findings indicated that the BRIEF, an ecological measure of EF, showed significant association with self-reported problematic driving outcomes in adolescents. No relationship was found between performance-based EF measures and self-reported driving outcomes. The BRIEF could offer unique and quick insight into problematic driving behavior and potentially be an indicator of driving risk in adolescent drivers during clinical evaluations.

Language: en