Association Between Executive Function and Problematic Adolescent Driving.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Traffic Safety

Background:

• Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are a leading cause of adolescent injury and death.
• Safe driving requires complex executive functions (EF).
• Limited research exists on using self-reported EF for adolescent driving risk assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and performance-based EF tasks as predictors of problematic adolescent driving outcomes.
• To determine if self-reported EF measures can identify adolescents at higher risk for driving incidents.

Main Methods:

• Forty-six adolescent drivers completed the BRIEF questionnaire.
• Participants also completed performance-based EF tasks (Trail Making Test, Backwards Digit Span).
• Self-reported driving outcomes included police stops, tickets, and MVCs.

Main Results:

• Self-reported difficulties in planning and organization correlated with increased odds of MVCs.
• Self-reported inhibition difficulties were linked to a higher likelihood of receiving traffic tickets.
• Broader self-reported EF difficulties on the BRIEF predicted more police stops.

Conclusions:

• The BRIEF, an ecological EF measure, significantly associated with adolescent self-reported problematic driving behaviors.
• Performance-based EF measures did not predict driving outcomes.
• The BRIEF may offer valuable insights into adolescent driving risk during clinical evaluations.