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Importance This study extends the literature regarding Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) related driving impairments to a newly-licensed, adolescent population. Objective To investigate the combined risks of adolescence, ADHD, and distracted driving (cell phone conversation and text messaging) on driving performance. Design Adolescents with and without ADHD engaged in a simulated drive under three conditions (no distraction, cell phone conversation, texting). During each condition, one unexpected event (e.g., car suddenly merging into driver's lane) was introduced. Setting Driving simulator. Participants Adolescents aged 16–17 with ADHD (n=28) and controls (n=33). Interventions/Main Exposures Cell phone conversation, texting, and no distraction while driving. Outcome Measures Self-report of driving history; Average speed, standard deviation of speed, standard deviation of lateral position, braking reaction time during driving simulation. Results Adolescents with ADHD reported fewer months of driving experience and a higher proportion of driving violations than controls. After controlling for months of driving history, adolescents with ADHD demonstrated more variability in speed and lane position than controls. There were no group differences for braking reaction time. Further, texting negatively impacted the driving performance of all participants as evidenced by increased variability in speed and lane position. Conclusions This study, one of the first to investigate distracted driving in adolescents with ADHD, adds to a growing body of literature documenting that individuals with ADHD are at increased risk for negative driving outcomes. Furthermore, texting significantly impairs the driving performance of all adolescents and increases existing driving-related impairment in adolescents with ADHD, highlighting the need for education and enforcement of regulations against texting for this age group.

The resiliency of families, based on family functioning and family hardiness, may influence caregivers' anxiety while their child is in the hospital undergoing treatment for his or her chronic illness. The current study assessed the relationship among these factors for caregivers of children with various chronic illnesses who were residing at a local Ronald McDonald House (RMH). Caregivers completed paper-based questionnaires to assess family hardiness, functioning, and parent state anxiety and interviews to identify positive and negative strategies and behaviors affecting how they were coping with their child's illness. Findings indicated that family functioning mediated the relationship between family hardiness and caregiver anxiety as a resilience factor that further reduced caregiver anxiety. During interviews, caregivers suggested that support from family members strengthened their coping abilities. Negative interactions with their child's medical team and not knowing how or being equipped to help their child live with his or her illness heightened caregiver stress. Future research should focus on developing, implementing, and measuring the effectiveness of interventions to improve caregiver support, such as by holding caregiver support groups at local RMHs, especially during a child's hospitalization.

Objective We examined the relation between aerobic fitness and inhibition in young children with and without ADHD-risk status. Method Participants (91 ADHD-risk, 107 typically-developing, Mage = 6.83, 53.5% male, and 68.2% Caucasian) completed an assessment of aerobic fitness and a flanker task requiring variable amounts of inhibitory control. Results Aerobic fitness was positively associated with inhibition. When inhibitory control demands were largest, the relation varied as a function of ADHD-risk status such that the link between aerobic fitness and inhibition was only significant for children with ADHD-risk. The relation between aerobic fitness, status, and inhibition was further moderated by age for interference control. Specifically, the positive relation between aerobic fitness and interference control was only significant for younger children with ADHD-risk. Conclusion A fitness–cognition link appears in young childhood that seems particularly salient for those in the earliest school years with ADHD-risk. The findings extend work on typically-developing children and suggest that exploring aerobic fitness interventions to address executive function impairments in children at risk for ADHD is warranted.

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Relationships between mathematics attitude and mathematics ability were investigated using six scale scores from Sandman's Mathematics Attitude Inventory and four mathematics scores from the California Test of Basic Skills. The instruments were administered to 714 seventh-grade mathematics students in classes grouped by ability level. Results showed significant differences in mathematics attitude and mathematics ability among the class levels and the teacher-determined ability groups. The mathematics-attitude scales for self-concept and anxiety proved to be the best correlates of mathematics achievement. Attitude data suggest that pupils placed in average-ability groups have self-concept and anxiety difficulties equal to or greater than pupils in low-ability groups.