The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Short-term mediating factors of a school-based intervention to prevent youth substance use in Europe.
To investigate factors mediating the effects of a European school-based intervention (Unplugged) based on a social influence approach to youths' substance use. ⋯ This study lends some support to the notion that school-based programs based on a social influence model may prevent juvenile substance use through the modification of attitudes, refusal skills, and normative perceptions.
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Secondary task engagement that distracts the driver is a contributing factor to motor vehicle crashes among adults. However, the association between eye glance duration and crash risk with novice teenage drivers has not been determined. ⋯ Those eye glances away from the forward roadway involving secondary tasks increased the likelihood of CNC. The longer the duration of eye glance away from the road the greater the risk, regardless of type of secondary task. Education and policy discouraging secondary task engagement, particularly for prolonged periods, is warranted.
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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. The unique challenge posed by the proliferation of new technological distractions may accelerate this risk behavior and may lend itself to innovative prevention efforts.
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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. ⋯ The introduction of the texting restriction was not associated with a reduction in crash rates or trends in severe crash types. On the contrary, small increases in the most severe crash types (fatal/disabling and nondisabling injury) and small decreases in the least severe crash types (possible injury/PDO) were observed. These findings extend the literature on the effects of cell phone restrictions by examining the effects of the restriction on newly licensed adolescent drivers and adult drivers separately by crash severity.