Investigating associations of internalizing, externalizing, and ADHD symptoms with dimensions of self-reported driving

Crash-causing, unsafe driving behaviors have been associated with a number of psychological disorders and symptoms. Few studies have aimed to tease apart the relationships between different symptom dimensions with driving. To address generalizability issues with consistency and comprehensive measurement of symptoms, the current study aimed to (1) explore unique associations between two broad dimensions of psychopathology symptoms and risky driving, and to (2) evaluate the incremental validity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in predicting risky driving. A sample of 372 young adults (mean age = 19.7; 92% female) and a more nationally representative sample of 350 adults (mean age = 45.9, 50.3% female) remotely took part in a Qualtrics study. The survey included self-reported measures of internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, ADHD symptoms, and risky driving behavior.. While internalizing and externalizing symptoms in young adults were uniquely related to negative emotions and reckless decisions while driving, respectively, both dimensions of symptoms were related to negative emotions and reckless decisions in the more nationally representative sample. Across both samples, internalizing and externalizing symptoms were related to dimensions of aggressive driving behaviors. ADHD-specific symptom dimensions accounted for significant variance beyond broad internalizing and externalizing symptoms for negative emotions and reckless decisions while driving across both samples. Our findings extend prior work investigating diagnostic category and symptom-specific contributions to driving by examining associations between robust symptom measures and self-reported driving. Moreover, the findings suggest ADHD-specific symptoms, beyond broad psychopathology symptom dimensions, are still important for understanding the impact of psychopathology on unsafe driving. With broad psychopathology symptoms increasingly used to explore functional impacts of psychopathology, it is important to note that disorder-specific symptoms should not be overlooked; especially in future work examining objective functioning. •Psychopathology symptoms helped identify unique contributors to driving behavior.•Internalizing symptoms were uniquely related to negative emotions while driving.•Externalizing symptoms were uniquely related to reckless decisions while driving.•ADHD symptoms explained variance in risky driving beyond broad symptoms.•The factor structure