Effects of alcohol and the environment on driving ability in high-risk drivers

描述（由申请人提供）：酒精受损驾驶在美国是一个严重的问题。这项拟议中的研究旨在扩大我们对导致人们在受损时驾驶的因素的理解，方法是在一个以酒精中毒驾驶风险增加为特征的群体中测试酒精的急性影响（即，成人ADHD）。该项目将研究这一群体的酒精反应，重点是非典型酒精反应如何使这一群体处于酒后驾驶的高风险之中。首先，拟议的研究将研究酒精如何与环境因素相互作用，以损害驾驶能力， 成人ADHD先前的研究表明，酒精的影响在某些环境条件下更为明显，例如视觉干扰或动机冲突的存在。这些发现是重要的，因为这样的环境条件在实验室之外是很常见的，所以它们可以解释为什么一些司机即使在血液酒精浓度（BAC）低于中毒的法律的限制（即，80mg/100ml）。这项拟议中的研究将研究一组高危饮酒者（即，患有多动症的成年人）在几个剂量的酒精下。这将测试高风险环境是否会导致患有多动症的成年人在酒精下表现出更严重的行为障碍，即使酒精浓度低于法律的醉酒限度。其次，拟议的项目将检查ADHD成年人是否高估了他们在饮酒后的驾驶能力。先前的研究表明，对损伤的主观评估会影响人们酒后驾车的决定。众所周知，患有ADHD的个体显示出受损的自我评价过程，因此他们可能低估了酒精损害其驾驶能力的程度（Knouse等人，2005; Weafer等人，2008年）。此外，他们可能没有意识到在高风险情况下驾驶会加剧他们的行为障碍水平。这些具体目标将通过检查酒精和环境因素对患有和不患有ADHD的成年人的客观和感知驾驶能力的交互作用来实现。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alcohol-impaired driving is a significant problem in the United States. The proposed research seeks to expand our understanding of the factors leading people to drive while impaired by testing the acute effects of alcohol in a group characterized by increased risk for alcohol-intoxicated driving (i.e., adults with ADHD). The project will examine alcohol responses in this group with a focus on how atypical alcohol responses may place this group at heightened risk to drive after drinking. First, the proposed research will examine how alcohol interacts with environmental factors to impair driving ability in adults with ADHD. Previous research has shown that the effects of alcohol are more pronounced in certain environmental circumstances, such as the presence of visual distraction or motivational conflict. These findings are important because such environmental circumstances are quite common outside of the laboratory, so they may explain why some drivers show appreciable impairment even at blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) below the legal limit of intoxication (i.e., 80mg/100ml). The proposed research will examine the interaction of alcohol intoxication and environmental factors in a group of high-risk drinkers (i.e., adults wih ADHD) under several doses of alcohol. This will test whether high-risk environmental circumstances cause adults with ADHD to show heightened behavioral impairment under alcohol, even at BACs below the legal limit of intoxication. Second, the proposed project will examine whether adults with ADHD overestimate their ability to drive after consuming alcohol. Previous research has shown that subjective evaluation of impairment informs people's decisions to drive after drinking. It is also well known that individuals with ADHD show impaired self-evaluation processes, so they may underestimate the degree to which alcohol impairs their driving ability (Knouse et al., 2005; Weafer et al., 2008). Further, they may not perceive how driving in high-risk scenarios exacerbates their level of behavioral impairment. These specific aims will be achieved by examining the interactive effects of alcohol and environmental factors on objective and perceived driving ability in adults with and without ADHD.