Open Access in JAH
Neural Responses to Exclusion Predict Susceptibility to Social Influence
Social influence is prominent across the lifespan, but sensitivity to influence is especially high during adolescence and is often associated with increased risk taking. Such risk taking can have dire consequences. For example, in American adolescents, traffic-related crashes are leading causes of nonfatal injury and death. Neural measures may be especially useful in understanding the basic mechanisms of adolescents' vulnerability to peer influence.The Impact of Michigan's Text Messaging Restriction on Motor Vehicle Crashes
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Michigan's universal text messaging restriction (effective July 2010) across different age groups of drivers and crash severities.Peer Passenger Influences on Male Adolescent Drivers' Visual Scanning Behavior During Simulated Driving
There is a higher likelihood of crashes and fatalities when an adolescent drives with peer passengers, especially for male drivers and male passengers. Simulated driving of male adolescent drivers with male peer passengers was studied to examine passenger influences on distraction and inattention.Social Norms and Risk Perception: Predictors of Distracted Driving Behavior Among Novice Adolescent Drivers
Adolescent drivers are at elevated crash risk due to distracted driving behavior (DDB). Understanding parental and peer influences on adolescent DDB may aid future efforts to decrease crash risk. We examined the influence of risk perception, sensation seeking, as well as descriptive and injunctive social norms on adolescent DDB using the theory of normative social behavior.Current Knowledge on Adolescent Driver Distraction
Motor vehicle collisions (crashes) are the leading cause of death to adolescents and are a major contributor to nonfatal injuries [1]. There are many contributors to crash-related morbidity and mortality of adolescents, such as inexperience and lack of skills, immaturity, and distraction [2–5]. Driver distraction is an important threat to the public health and safety of adolescent drivers, their passengers, and those with whom they share the public roadways. Currently, there is heightened awareness of driver distraction, motivated strongly by the media's interest in the effects on driving of using cell phones to talk or text; however, hand-held devices are only one source of driver distraction, and many other causes of this perennial threat to motor vehicle safety exist and need to be addressed.Driver Distraction: A Perennial but Preventable Public Health Threat to Adolescents
Although public health efforts have made some progress in reducing risk of adolescent motor vehicle crashes over the last three decades, new technologies and evolving behavior patterns have focused attention on the risk of distracted driving. For many of the same reasons that alcohol-impaired driving represents a distinct risk for adolescents, distracted driving has an elevated impact on this age group. Similarly, many of the strategies used to reduce alcohol-impaired driving among adolescents might be applied to driver distraction, including adults serving as role models with high standards of behavior.
