By Valerie DeBenedette, Contributing Writer

Research shows that teens who drive with peers as passengers have increased risks of crashing. Many states have responded by creating graduated driver licensing laws which include limits on the number of passengers teen drivers can have.

Two new studies in the latest Journal of Adolescent Health reviewed key factors shown to influence teen driving behaviors: perception of driving risks, parental monitoring and the presence of peer passengers.

Both studies have results that support the role of teen driver licensing restrictions and parental oversight as effective methods to prevent teen driver accidents.

Teen drivers with a stronger awareness of risks and with parents who monitor their whereabouts and set rules engage in less risky driving behavior, according to the first study.

A second study showed that teen passengers distract both male and female teen drivers, and are linked to aggressive or illegal driving by male teen drivers. Researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia led both studies.

The first study researched how sensation seeking or risk taking, risk perception and parental monitoring and rule setting affected a teen’s likelihood of risky driving and driving with multiple peer passengers.The researchers surveyed 198 teens aged 15 to 17 in two states with graduated driver license laws.

They found that higher sensation seeking, lower risk perception and less parental monitoring predicted teens’ risky driving, and having multiple peer passengers increased that risk.

“The good news is that most of the teens in the study reported being aware of the risks of driving dangerously,” said lead author Jessica Mirman, Ph.D.

Findings from on-scene crash investigations revealed that both male and female teen drivers were more susceptible to distractions with passengers in the car.

In addition, boys with multiple passengers were more likely to drive aggressively or perform illegal maneuvers in the moments before a crash when they had passengers than they were when driving alone.

“Distraction from peer passengers appears to play a prominent role for both male and female drivers,” said Allison E. Curry, Ph.D., MPH, director of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Core at the Center and lead author on this study. “One in five females and one in four males who were driving with friends were distracted by something inside the vehicle just before they crashed.”

Passengers affected boys and girls in different ways. Boys were more prone to crash due to speeding or reckless driving while girls were more apt to crash because of distractions such as looking at their friends, eating, texting or using their cell phones, said Jeffrey Weiss, M.D., pediatric hospitalist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics on teen driving issues.

“The $64,000 question about graduated driver’s licensing rules is, ‘Why do they work?’” Weiss noted. “We’ve shown that they work, but is it because of the passenger restriction or the night restriction or a combination of both? Is it because of parental education?”

Some of the beneficial effect might be because some teens wait to drive until they can get a full license without restrictions, he added.

Health Behavior News Service is part of the Center for Advancing Health

The Health Behavior News Service disseminates news stories on the latest findings from peer-reviewed research journals. HBNS covers both new studies and systematic reviews of studies on (1) the effects of behavior on health, (2) health disparities data and (3) patient engagement research. The goal of HBNS stories is to present the facts for readers to understand and use for themselves to make informed choices about health and health care.

Professor Wellbody’s Academy of Health & Wellness will bring guests of all ages into the imaginative world of Professor Wellbody, demonstrating how personal choices can positively affect our health and well-being.

To learn more watch:

Each year, about 70,000 young people in the U.S. aged 15 to 39 years are diagnosed with cancer.

In the series, a group of teens and young adults from Children’s Adolescent Young Adult Oncology Program talk about their experiences with the disease – from treatments and hair loss, to dealing with school, friends and family.

Producers of the series hope that seeing other teens and young adults with cancer talk about their experiences will help other young patients struggling with the diagnosis of cancer cope.

“It is so important for these teens and young adults with cancer to know that there is a peer out there that understands what they are going through and that support is available,”  Dr. Rebecca Johnson, medical director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The discussion group was facilitated by Teen Talking Circles, a nonprofit organization that offers teens “a safe place to tell their truth,” and trains adults to start Teen Talking Circles in their communities.

• To view the complete series go to:  ”Good Times and Bald Times” or click on individual episodes listed below.

• To learn more visit the website of the Children’s Adolescent Young Adult Oncology Program.

To learn more about the challenges facing teens and young adults with cancer read our series from the NCI Cancer Bulletin.

Series Episodes:

• Good Times and Bald Times – Meet the Circle
• Good Times and Bald Times – Family, Friends & Cancer
• Good Times and Bald Times – How Did it Feel?
• Good Times and Bald Times – Treatment and Medication
• Good Times and Bald Times – Eggs
• Good Times and Bald Times – Fertility Preservation
• Good Times and Bald Times – Food, Appetite & Cancer
• Good Times and Bald Times – Feeding Tubes
• Good Times and Bald Times – Losing Your Hair
• Good Times and Bald Times – PICC Lines, Hickman Lines & Ports, Oh My!
• Good Times and Bald Times – Dealing with School
• Good Times and Bald Times – What If

The new clinic will be located in the Providence Mill Creek Medical Building - 12800 Bothell Everett Hwy, Ste. 150, Everett, WA 98208.

The clinic will provide treatment for children, teens and young adults ages 0-21 needing non-emergency medical care in the evenings, over the weekends and during the holidays.

No appointments or referrals are necessary.

Providence Mill Creek Medical Building - 12800 Bothell Everett Hwy, Everett.

In general, the cost — and time waiting — are less at urgent care clinics than they are at emergency rooms.

Hours of operation for Urgent Care at Seattle Children’s Mill Creek Clinic will be the same as Children’s Urgent Care Clinics in Bellevue and Seattle:

• Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and

• Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Children’s Urgent Care Clinics are not intended for serious or life-threatening emergencies, hospital officials cautioned, and if a child being seen at a Children’s Urgent Care Clinic has an emergent medical need, the patient will be transferred to an Emergency Room (ER).

To help parents decide whether to take a child to the ER or to urgent care, Seattle Children’s has prepared a quick guide:

Supporters of the initiatives say these new services allow students to get good information about sex anonymously. But there are also those who oppose these initiatives, writes Hoffman.

…proponents of abstinence-based sexual education argue that these digital services presume that sexual activity among teenagers is the norm, and do not spend enough time on alternatives.

“They are only focusing on the risk-reduction model,” said Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, which hopes to kick off its online service for teenagers next year.

Those who run digital programs say they simply want teens to have accurate information, to help them make good decisions. Even though popular culture is saturated with sex, facts and advice can be hard to find.

To learn more:

• Read Hoffman’s article Sex Education Gets Directly to Youths, via Text.

Some of the services discussed:

• ICYC – In Case You’re Curious

• Chicago’s The Sex-Ed Loop

• California’s The Hookup.

• SexEtc: www.sexetc.org

• National Abstinence Education Association: www.abstinenceassociation.org