Motorsports Involvement Among Adolescents and Young Adults with Childhood ADHD

Abstract

Although children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for impulsive, health-endangering behavior, few studies have examined nonsubstance, use-related risk-taking behaviors. This study examined whether adolescents and young adults with ADHD histories were more likely than those without ADHD histories to report frequent engagement in motorsports, a collection of risky driving-related activities associated with elevated rates of physical injury. Path analyses tested whether persistent impulsivity, comorbid conduct disorder or antisocial personality disorder (CD/ASP), and heavy alcohol use mediated this association. Analyses also explored whether frequent motorsporting was associated with unsafe and alcohol-influenced driving. Two hundred twenty-one adolescent and young adult males (16–25 years old) diagnosed with ADHD in childhood and 139 demographically similar males without ADHD histories reported their motorsports involvement. Persistent impulsivity, CD/ASP, heavy drinking, and hazardous driving were also measured in adolescence/young adulthood. Adolescents and young adults with ADHD histories were more likely to report frequent motorsports involvement than those without childhood ADHD. Impulsivity, CD/ASP, and heavy drinking partially mediated this association, such that individuals with ADHD histories, who had persistent impulsivity or CD/ASP diagnoses, were more likely to engage in heavy drinking, which was positively associated with frequent motorsporting. Motorsports involvement was associated with more unsafe and alcohol-influenced driving, and this association was more often found among those with, than without, ADHD histories. Adolescents and young adults with ADHD histories, especially those with persisting impulsivity, comorbid CD/ASP and heavy drinking tendencies, are more likely to engage in motorsports, which may heighten risk of injury.

Acknowledgments

Grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA011873 and AA00202) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA12414), awarded to Drs. Brooke Molina and William Pelham, funded the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study, which was the data source for this project. Portions of this study were presented at the 2008 Joint RSA/ISBRA Scientific Conference, Washington, DC.

Notes

Note: ADHD n = 221, control n = 139. All percentages indicate endorsement of “frequent” involvement (i.e., “used to do it regularly” or “do it now, very often”). OR = odds ratio and represents the likelihood of participants with childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) reporting frequent involvement in motorsport activities relative to controls. For auto racing, the chi-square statistic and odds ratio could not be computed because the cell size for controls was 0. However, Fisher's exact probability test indicated that individuals with ADHD were significantly more likely to engage in auto racing than controls.

Note: n = 358, except for correlations with maternal-reported impulsivity (n = 277); Level of education = did participant report any years of college education (0 = no, 1 = yes)?; Living at Home = Does participant live with parents (0 = no, 1 = yes)?; Childhood ADHD (0 = control, 1 = attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]); Persistent Impulsivity = Sum of items from Eysenck Impulsivity Scale; CD/ASP = Did participant have conduct disorder (if 16/17 years old) or antisocial personality disorder (if 18–25 years old; 0 = no, 1 = yes)?; Heavy drinking = mean of rate of binge drinking and/or drunkenness in past 12 months (0 =not at all to 11 =several times/day); Frequent Motorsports Involvement? = Did participant endorse regular involvement (“used to do it regularly” or “do it now, very often”) in at least one motorsport (0 = no, 1 = yes)?

*p < .05. **p < .01.

Note: Frequent motorsporting = being regularly engaged (“used to do it regularly” or “do it now, very often”) in one or more motorsports. Numbers in the parentheses represent the frequency of participants endorsing the unsafe or alcohol-influenced driving divided by the total frequency of participants with the same level of motorsport involvement. Chi-squares were computed for main analyses; Fisher's exact probability tests were conducted to examine whether associations between motorsporting and driving behavior differed for participants with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) histories. OR = odds ratio and represents the likelihood of frequent motorsporters reporting unsafe or alcohol-influenced driving relative to infrequent motorsporters; CI = confidence interval.