Factors associated with adolescents' propensity to drive with multiple passengers and to engage in risky driving behaviors.

Purpose: Research shows that parenting factors and individual difference variables, such as sensation seeking (SS) and risk perceptions (RPs), are associated with increased motor vehicle crash risk for young drivers. The presence of peer passengers is also known to be associated with increased crash risk. However, as previous studies did not study these factors concurrently, less is known about the factors that are associated with driving with peer passengers and if peer passengers may mediate the effect of parenting and individual difference variables on adolescents' engagement in risky driving behavior.

Determining subgroups of teens for targeted driving injury prevention strategies: a latent class analysis approach.

Objective: To utilize teen traffic safety belief profiles to improve targeting of resources and messages to young novice drivers.

Methods: The National Young Driver Survey is a nationally representative sample 5665 of 9th to 11th graders in the United States. Using latent class analysis, we grouped beliefs about 25 safety-relevant behaviors into a summary set of belief profiles and related these profiles to demographics and driver/passenger experience.

Adult-supervised practice driving for adolescent learners: The current state and directions for interventions.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to quantify and identify correlates to the amount of parent-supervised behind-the-wheel practice hours by novice teen drivers.

Methods: A national survey of 945 parents of recently licensed teen drivers was conducted. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors related to the number of practice hours completed.

Adolescent drivers' perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of abstention from in-vehicle cell phone use.

Driver in-vehicle cell phone use presents a dangerous distraction for adolescent drivers for whom motor vehicle crashes represents the leading cause of death. We used the National Young Driver Survey (NYDS), a nationally representative (N=5665) cross-sectional study of adolescent driving behavior, to examine potential psychosocial correlates of cell phone use while driving (CPWD). Results indicated that stronger beliefs about the advantages of abstention from CPWD were associated with less frequent CPWD, adjusted OR: 0.

A practical approach for applying best practices in behavioural interventions to injury prevention.

Behavioural science when combined with engineering, epidemiology and other disciplines creates a full picture of the often fragmented injury puzzle and informs comprehensive solutions. To assist efforts to include behavioural science in injury prevention strategies, this paper presents a methodological tutorial that aims to introduce best practices in behavioural intervention development and testing to injury professionals new to behavioural science. This tutorial attempts to bridge research to practice through the presentation of a practical, systematic, six-step approach that borrows from established frameworks in health promotion and disease prevention.

The best laid plans: disappointments of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.

As part of its war on drugs, the U.S. government spent nearly $1 billion between 1998 and 2004 for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.

Effects of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign on youths.

Objectives: We examined the cognitive and behavioral effects of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign on youths aged 12.5 to 18 years and report core evaluation results.

Methods: From September 1999 to June 2004, 3 nationally representative cohorts of US youths aged 9 to 18 years were surveyed at home 4 times.