The Examination of Factors Contributing to Delays in Obtaining a Driver's License for Youth With...

Youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to experience delays in obtaining their driver's license relative to their same-aged peers. However, despite these delays, there is no evidence of improved driving outcomes for these youth. Additionally, graduated driver's licensing laws typically terminate around the age of 18, giving some youth less structure prior to independently transitioning to the road. To date, no study has examined the cognitive and parenting factors that are related to delays in licensure for adolescents with ADHD within the context of an intervention (i.e., Supporting a Teen's Effective Entry to the Roadway; STEER). The current study utilized logistic regression analyses to determine if teen cognitive functioning, parenting, and the intervention were related to licensure status at 12-month follow-up.

Baseline cognition (i.e., reaction time variability, working memory, inhibitory control), baseline parental monitoring, baseline negative parenting, and licensure status were collected on 172 adolescents with ADHD enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial.

There was a significant interaction between reaction time variability and the intervention on licensure status (p = .007), and a marginal interaction between negative parenting and the intervention on licensure status (p = .05). Those in the STEER group with more reaction time variability were more likely to be licensed at the 12-month follow-up. Although not statistically significant, those in the STEER group tended to have higher rates of licensure when negative parenting was lower.

These findings indicate that the STEER intervention may have uniquely benefitted those adolescents who had more difficulties with reaction time prior to the intervention and, to some extent, provided additional support to parents that already had lower levels of negative parenting.