Characterizing the Learning-to-Drive Period for Teens with Attention Deficits.
Haley J Bishop, Allison E Curry, Despina Stavrinos and 1 others
PMID 31335582WHAT IT FOUND
Teens with ADHD made more driving errors than peers, while those with trouble focusing failed more assessments.
Both groups rated their skills similarly to typically developing teens. This mismatch between confidence and performance suggests teens with attention deficits may overestimate their readiness for licensure.
Key findings
01Teens with ADHD made significantly more total driving errors on an on-road assessment compared to typically developing teens.
02Teens with trouble staying focused (TSF) were more likely to have their on-road assessment terminated for safety reasons than teens with ADHD or typically developing peers.
03Despite these performance deficits, there were no significant differences between groups in self-reported or parent-reported driving confidence.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The sample sizes for the ADHD (n=12) and TSF (n=9) groups were very small. The study was a secondary analysis; the original trial was not powered to detect differences based on ADHD status. ADHD diagnoses were not confirmed by physicians or gold-standard measures, relying instead on parent report. The ADHD group was mostly male, which may bias results given gender differences in driving behavior. The 'TSF' group included teens with subclinical symptoms or other causes for inattention, such as anxiety or depression.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this study proves a specific intervention works or fails. The original trial tested a web-based parent intervention, but this analysis did not compare outcomes by treatment group. The findings describe a mismatch between confidence and performance in small subgroups, not the efficacy of any therapy.