Mental health problems could be holding young people back from driving

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-04-09 01:00

International

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

Young people with a mood disorder are less likely to get their driver's license when they become eligible and are more likely to crash if they do start driving, according to US research. The team looked at driver's license rates and driving outcomes among a group of 1879 youths with a mood disorder and about 85,000 without a mood disorder, all around the age they became eligible to drive. The researchers say young people were 30% less likely to get a driver's license if they had a mood disorder, and those with mood disorders who did get a license had a higher likelihood of crashing within the first two years than their peers.