AsianScientist (May 18, 2011) – Young adults who engage in risky driving behavior are more likely to experience psychological distress, including mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, according to research from Australia.
Psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety, has been previously linked to risky behavior in adolescents, including unprotected sex, smoking and high alcohol consumption.
Researchers in Queensland therefore set out to find if there was a similar link between psychological distress and risk taking in young drivers, such as speeding, not wearing a seat belt, and using a mobile phone while at the wheel.
761 young novice drivers aged 17-25 were asked to fill out an online questionnaire to assess their psychological distress and their driving behavior. The novice drivers all had a provisional (intermediate) driver’s license which enabled them to drive unaccompanied.
Psychological distress alone was found to account for 8.5 percent of the increased risky driving behavior of young adults. The association was greater in women than in men; 9.5 percent of the variance in risky driving could be explained by psychological distress in women compared with 6.7 percent in men.
The authors suggest that such questionnaires could be used to identify young drivers with psychological distress and therefore a greater accident risk on the road.
“Young people presenting to medical and mental health professionals could be screened for current psychological distress, particularly if they have incurred injury through risky behavior,” they say.
Road traffic accidents continue to be the leading cause of death in young people between ages 15-24.
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Source: British Medical Journal.
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