Work

Steering teens safe: a randomized trial of a parent-based intervention to improve safe teen driving

Year: 2014

Type: article

Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and parent-based interventions are a promising approach. We assess the effectiveness of Steering Teens Safe, a parent-focused program to increase safe teen driving. METHODS: Steering Teens Safe aimed to improve parental communication with teens about safe driving using motivational interviewing techniques in conjunction with 19 safe driving lessons. A randomized controlled trial involved 145 parent-teen dyads (70 intervention and 75 control). Intervention parents received a 45-minute session to learn the program with four follow-up phone sessions, a DVD, and a workbook. Control parents received a standard brochure about safe driving. Scores were developed to measure teen-reported quantity and quality of parental communication about safe driving. The main outcome measure was a previously validated Risky Driving Score reported by teens. Because the Score was highly skewed, a generalized linear model based on a gamma distribution was used for analysis. RESULTS: Intervention teens ranked their parent's success in talking about driving safety higher than control teens (p = 0.035) and reported that their parents talked about more topics (non-significant difference). The Risky Driving Score was 21% lower in intervention compared to control teens (85% CI = 0.60, 1.00). Interaction between communication quantity and the intervention was examined. Intervention teens who reported more successful communication had a 42% lower Risky Driving Score (95% CI = 0.37, 0.94) than control parents with less successful communication. CONCLUSIONS: This program had a positive although not strong effect, and it may hold the most promise in partnership with other programs, such as Driver's Education or Graduated Driver's License policies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01014923. Registered Nov. 16, 2009.

Source: BMC Public Health

DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-777

Authors: Corinne Peek-Asa, Joseph E Cavanaugh, Jingzhen Yang, Vidya Chande, Tracy Young, Marizen Ramirez

Institutions: University of Iowa, Nationwide Children's Hospital, The Ohio State University, Blank Children's Hospital

Language: English

Topic: Traffic and Road Safety

Subfield: Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,290