Anxiety in driving assessment of individuals with cognitive impairment.

Purpose: This study explores the effects of anxiety on driving performance in a sample of 35 individuals with cognitive impairment who underwent driving reassessment 2 weeks after neuropsychological assessment.

Method: Participants completed measures of test, state and driving anxiety prior to the neuropsychological assessment. Measures of state anxiety were re-administered immediately before and after the on-road driving test.

Results: Higher anxiety before the on-road test was associated with fewer errors, although regression analyses showed that anxiety was not a unique predictor of driving performance.

Conclusions: The results suggest that anxiety has a positive influence on driving performance but does not predict driving assessment outcome. Occupational therapists and driving instructors were better judges of the effects of anxiety on driving performance than were the participants themselves. Implications of these findings for clinical and medico-legal contexts are discussed.