INATTENTIVE AND HYPERACTIVE BEHAVIORS AND DRIVING OFFENSES IN ADOLESCENCE

Objective: The associations between symptoms of attention-deficit hype ractivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, anxiety, or depression an d no disorder in relation to driving offenses were examined in 916 ado lescents. Method: Self-report and parent report were used to assess a birth cohort of New Zealand adolescents' mental health status at age 1 5 years. Adolescents who scored 1.5 SD above the mean on the DSM-III t otal ADHD symptom scale were identified as reporting significant ADHD symptomatology. Self-report data and official traffic conviction recor ds were used to identify adolescents who had committed driving offense s between ages 15 and 18 years. Results: ADHD symptomatology and condu ct disorder were strongly associated with driving offenses. ADHD sympt omatology in females was significantly associated with driving offense s and more traffic crashes compared with other disorder or no disorder . Conclusions: Adolescents with a history of ADHD and conduct problems are significantly more likely than their peers to commit traffic offe nses. Research in ADHD and risky driving should include female adolesc ents, as those with attentional difficulties are at a high risk for be ing involved in traffic crashes than females who do not experience att entional difficulties.