THRIVE TO DRIVE: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
PHYSICAL FITNESS, EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, AND
ADOLESCENT DRIVING SAFETY
Daniel Cox and Ann Lambert
Complacency, thy name is collisions
In 2007 Israel was shocked to learn
they had 397 vehicular fatalities
In 2009 Israel activated a
national behavioral intervention that
reduced their annual fatalities by 26%
In the US in 2008 there were
350,000+ fatalities and 15+ million
injuries annually solely in the 15-29
age group, and there is no national
campaign
Kudos to YouthNEX and our colleagues for taking this
seriously and supporting our work!
Patrick Tolan, Ph.D.
Ann Lambert, Ph.D.
Joe Allen, Ph.D.
Ron Reeves, Ph.D
Art Weltman, Ph.D.
Daniel Cox, Ph.D.
John Sirard,Ph.D.
Premise: Novice driver collisions are due
to inexperience and poor judgment
1. Primary hypothesis: Poor judgment is
equivalent to under-developed executive
functioning which leads to risky and dangerous
driving.
2. Secondary hypothesis: Executive functioning is,
in part, driven by physical fitness.
THE PROBLEM
ADOLESCENTS AND RISK
• Teens take more risks
– Automobile accidents
– Binge drinking
– Contraceptive use
– Crime
WHY?
ADOLESCENTS AND RISK
• Are teens more:
– Irrational?
– Prone to delusions
of invulnerability?
– Ignorant?
SOME SCIENCE BEHIND THE
PROBLEM
• Probably not.
– Logic/reasoning abilities, risk perception, risk
salience of teens comparable to adults (Reyna &
Farley 2006; Steinberg 2010).
– Psychosocial capacities of adolescents differ:
•
•
•
•
Impulse control
Emotion regulation
Delay of gratification
Resistance to peer influence
– Executive Function
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
“Psychologists would rather share toothbrushes
than definitions of Executive Function.”
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
The ability to employ parallel
processing and working
memory that allows us to
anticipate consequences,
inhibit impulses, plan ahead,
problem solve, and be creative
in our interaction with the
world.
BREAKING THAT DOWN
• Controlled Processing
– Organization and coordination of sub-processes
• Prefrontal Cortex = Goal Maintenance
• Anterior Cigulate Cortex = Error Monitoring
EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS:
•Inhibition
•Planning
•Problem Solving
Frontal Cortex Development
ADOLESCENT BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
30 years
7-young adulthood
3-5 years
1-3 years
0-1 years
20
40
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND FATAL CRASHES
DRIVING AND EXECUTIVE
FUNCTION
• Geriatric populations
– On-road
– Driving simulation
– See Bieliaukas, 2005
• Adolescents
– Driving simulation
– Mantyla et al., 2009
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, ADOLESCENT
RISK-TAKING AND DRIVING
The Perfect Storm:
underdeveloped frontal cortex + presence of peers
=
risk/benefit analysis
EXERCISE AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
• Older Adults (Kramer & Colcombe, 2003)
• Children: Best 2010, Davis et al., 2011
RESEARCH GOAL
• Investigate the role executive function plays
in general risk-taking and driving-specific
risky behaviors of novice drivers, as well as
the role physical activity and fitness play in
the maturation of EF ability.
MODEL
Phase 3,
Longitudinal
data
1
Physical + Physical
Activity
Fitness
2
+
3
+
General
4
EF
+
5
Driving
EF
9
-
10
-
7
+ Risk/Dangerous
Affinity to
Behaviors
Take Risk
11
+
12
+
6
Risky
Driving
8
+
Driving
Mishaps
RESEARCH PLAN
Recruit 100 adolescents from AHS with learner permits
Consent/Assent, Assess physical fitness (VO2-max) and physical activity
(Distribute accelerometers)
7-days later, Assess general EF and driving-specific EF and simulator risk
taking.
First 6 months of independent driving with monthly text messages querying
driving mishaps. Collect self-reported general risk taking and debrief.
EXERCISE
• Physical Fitness:
– VO2-Max
• Physical Activity:
– G-S recall
– ActiGraph accelerometers
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
• General EF
– Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS)
– Operation Span (OSPAN)
• Driving-specific EF
– Novel in-simulator test
•
•
•
•
•
divided attention,
selective attention,
dual processing,
response inhibition,
working memory
DRIVING PERFORMANCE & MISHAPS
• Tactical Driving Simulation Test (during 2nd visit)
• Instructor on-road ratings
• 1st six months of independent driving
– Text message once a month
RISK
• General
– Youth Risk Behavior Survey
– Core Alcohol and Drug Survey
– Self-Reported Delinquency
• Driving-Specific
– Cox Assessment of Risky
Driving Scale (CARDS)
SUMMARY OF PREDICTIONS
• Physical activity and physical fitness will
positively influence General EF.
• General EF will lead to Driving-Specific EF.
• General EF will predict general risk-taking.
• Driving-Specific EF will predict Risky Driving.
• Risky driving will predict future driving
mishaps over the first six months.
These data will serve as preliminary studies for a
larger, experimentally based NIH proposal.
To follow up, contact
• Daniel J. Cox, djc4f@virginia.edu
• Ann Lambert, ael4n@hscmail.mcc.virginia.edu