News & Updates

Youth with mood disorders are less likely to obtain a driver’s license but those who do obtain a driver’s license are more likely to be in a vehicle crash.

Around 200 million people worldwide live with endometriosis, a common gynecological disease with symptoms that include pelvic pain, fatigue, and infertility. NICHD recently hosted a discussion about advances and new directions in endometriosis research, and the imperative of raising awareness and education about the disease.

A virtual skill-based driving test can identify new drivers who are at higher-than-average risk for a crash within one year after they receive their licenses. The authors concluded that test assessments could inform development of interventions that would reduce crash risk in less skillful new drivers.

A program that combines computer-based and driving simulator training may reduce the proportion of crashes and near crashes among teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a small study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Teens who took the training, which aims to reduce the number of long glances away from the roadway, had a nearly 40% lower risk for crash or near crash, compared to a similar group who did not undergo the training.

New drivers who performed poorly on a computerized driving simulator were more likely to fail their road test, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings suggest that the virtual driving assessment—which mimics situations in which new drivers are more likely to crash—can identify drivers lacking the skills to avoid crashes so they can benefit from interventions on how to reduce their crash risk.

Read about the career and achievements of NICHD Deputy Director Dr. Alison Cernich.

Teens who take positive risks, such as enrolling in a challenging course or initiating a new friendship, tend to be more involved in school and less likely to act impulsively, compared to those who take negative risks like drinking alcohol or stealing, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Four years after high school, adolescents who were binge drinkers during their senior year were more likely than non-binge drinkers to drive while impaired, to ride with an impaired driver, to black out from alcohol, to extreme binge drink, and to engage in risky driving practices, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

High school students who began classes roughly an hour later than students at neighboring schools slept an average of 43 minutes more per night, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study authors wrote that the later morning start times accommodated the teens’ natural sleep period, which begins about two hours later than that of younger children.

Teens with a learner’s permit who had regular, behind-the-wheel practice sessions had a lower crash risk in the year after they obtained their driver’s license, compared to teens who practiced less frequently, according to a study by researchers at the NICHD and other institutions.

Read about the career and achievements of NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi.

Adolescent drivers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a higher crash rate than adolescents who do not have the disorder, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

NIH study also suggests handling a cell phone doubles teen driving crash risk.

In 2018, researchers funded by NICHD made significant progress in advancing the health and well-being of infants, children, teenagers, and adults across the United States and around the world.

NICHD researchers find that sexual minority men are more likely to have lived in three or more different places in the past year.

Teen drivers are more likely to be involved in a collision or near miss during the first three months after getting a driver’s license, compared to the previous three months on a learner’s permit.

The month of May offers an opportunity to focus on NICHD’s Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Branch, which observes its 5th anniversary supporting research on preventing, treating, and reducing all forms of childhood trauma, injury, and critical illness.

Roughly a third of recent high school graduates have ridden in a motor vehicle with a substance-impaired driver, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

At-risk young adults who scored higher than their peers on a questionnaire that measures impulsive personality traits had a higher chance of engaging in reckless and impaired driving, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

Over the past year, NICHD contributed to numerous scientific advances and key initiatives.