Associations Between Parenting Styles and Teen Driving, Safety-Related Behaviors and Attitudes WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Authoritative parenting style is known to influence adolescent behaviors and attitudes positively. However, little is known about the interplay between parental warmth, support, and control in relation to teen driving safety.

+OBJECTIVE: The goal was to explore the association between parenting style and driving behaviors. METHODS: The 2006 National Young Driver Survey gathered data on driving safety behaviors from a nationally representative sample of 5665 ninth-, 10th-, and 11th-graders. A parenting style variable was based on adolescent reports and separated parents into 4 groups, (1) authoritative (high support and high rules/monitoring), (2) authoritarian (low support and high rules/monitoring), (3) permissive (high support and low rules/monitoring), and (4) uninvolved (low support and low rules/monitoring). Associations between parenting style and driving behaviors and attitudes were assessed. RESULTS: One half of parents were described as authoritative, 23% as permissive, 8% as authoritarian, and 19% as uninvolved. Compared with teens with uninvolved parents, those with authoritative parents reported one half the crash risk in the past year (odds ratio [OR]: 0.47 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26 – 0.87]), were 71% less likely to drive when intoxicated (OR: 0.29 [95% CI: 0.19 – 0.44]), and were less likely to use a cellular telephone while driving (OR: 0.71 [95% CI: 0.50 – 0.99]). Teens with authoritative or authoritarian parents reported using seat belts nearly twice as often (authoritative: OR: 1.94 [95% CI: 1.49 –2.54]; authoritarian: OR: 1.85 [95% CI: 1.08 –3.18]) and speeding one half as often (authoritative: OR: 0.47 [95% CI: 0.36 – 0.61]; authoritarian: OR: 0.63 [95% CI: 0.40 – 0.99]) as teens with uninvolved parents. No significant differences in crash risk or seat belt use were found between permissive and uninvolved parents.