Abstracts

Rationale: There is no study in the literature that discusses attitudes towards driving and risk taking behaviour in adolescents and young adults. Given the importance of driving to and the prevalence of risk taking behaviours in this population, we compare attitudes towards driving and risk taking behaviour between adolescents and young adults with epilepsy and controls without chronic medical conditions. Methods: This study collected data through a Teenager/Adolescent/Young Adult Driving Questionnaire and a Parental/Caregiver Questionnaire designed by the authors. 55 adolescents/young adults with epilepsy completed the former questionnaire in pediatric neurology clinic or by mail, as did 102 otherwise healthy controls (i.e. no chronic medical conditions) obtained from orthopaedic clinic and from the pediatric emergency room. 55 parents of adolescents/young adults with epilepsy completed the later questionnaire, as did 54 parents of controls. Adolescents/young adults with epilepsy and controls were compared on questions like self-worth, judgement, drinking/drug use and motivations/perceptions/ concerns about driving. Results: The mean age of the epilepsy and control groups were 17.6 and 18.1 years respectively, with no significant difference between male:female distribution. 60% of the epilepsy group did not know the type of epilepsy with which they were diagnosed, and neither did 50.9% of parents of the epilepsy group. Whereas 52.0% of controls had a drivers licence, only 27.6% of the epilepsy group did (p=0.003). Both the epilepsy and control groups had the same motivations for driving. Both groups felt that they have good judgment, believed that they could resist peer pressure and recognized that driving while drunk or high is always dangerous and illegal. Controls felt better about themselves than those in the epilepsy group (92.2% vs. 81.0%, p=0.005). 45.1% of controls admitted to getting drunk within the past year, compared to 27.6% in the epilepsy group (p=.029). The epilepsy group and their parents both believed that adolescents and young adults with epilepsy understand how to manage their epilepsy and would not make less safe drivers than most people. However, parents of the epilepsy group worried/had more concerns about their children s ability to drive a car, compared to parents of controls (27.3% vs. 7.4%, p=0.024). Conclusions: This is the first study exploring attitudes towards risk taking and driving in this population, with some interesting findings. Adolescents and young adults with epilepsy often do not know their specific epilepsy diagnosis. They have the same motivations for driving as do their otherwise healthy peers, and similarly believe that they have good judgment and can resist peer pressure. Though fewer get drunk compared to their peers, the percentage that admit to this is worrisome given the relationship between alcohol and seizures. They have similar rates of illegal drug and marijuana use compared to their peers. Their parents have confidence in their judgment and ability to manage epilepsy, but have more reservations about their children s ability to drive.