Mental health and behavioural factors involved in road traffic crashes by young adults: analysis of the Raine Study

Abstract

Background Road traffic crashes (RTC) are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in young people. Severe mental health and behavioural conditions increase the likelihood of RTC, as do a range of driving-risk activities. Method We used data from the Raine Study, a prebirth cohort from Perth, Australia, to assess the relationship between measures of common mental health or behavioural conditions (Child Behavior Checklist Internalising and Externalising scores) at age 17 and subsequent RTC by 27 years, controlling for substance use and driving-risk activities. Results By 27 years of age, of 937 participants, 386 (41.2%) reported zero crashes and 551 (58.8%) reported ≥1 crashes. In the basel..