Vurdering av de kognitive helsekravene for førerkort hos ungdom forut for førerkortopplæring. En studie av norske tenåringers prestasjoner på trafikkrelevante kognitive tester

Abstract

Abstract Writer: Sunniva Sol Geirsdottir Title: «Vurdering av de kognitive helsekravene for førerkort hos ungdom forut for førerkortopplæring - en studie av norske tenåringers prestasjoner på trafikkrelevante kognitive tester». Head Supervisor: Per-Ola Rike, Cand. Psychol., PhD Assistant Supervisor: Anne-Kristine Schanke, Cand. Psychol., Dr. Philos., Professor (II) Contribution: This master thesis is based on a research project conducted by Sunnaas Sykehus HF, where Sunniva Sol Geirsdottir contributed to data collection, recruitment of participants, and data processing. Objective: The objective of this study was to administer cognitive tests with relevance for driving capacity to Norwegian adolescents in order to provide reference data for clinicians when assessing prerequisites to start driving training among adolescents with cognitive impairments. Methods: Adolescents aged 13-19 years were recruited from their respective schools in the South-East region of Norway. Measures included neuropsychological tests of visual attention and reaction time (Sunnaas Driving Test of Visual Attention and Reaction Time - SDTVART, psychomotor speed (Trail Making Test Part A - TMT-A), visuoconstruction (Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test - ROCFT and Greek Cross Copy), and executive function (Trail Making Test Part B - TMT-B and Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test Organization Index - ROCFT-OI). Results: Performances on the ROCFT and TMT-A and TMT-B were similar to comparable international studies of adolescents, and performances on the SDTVART subtests were similar to performance of young adults aged 18-30 years described in the official SDTVART manual. In total, few age and gender differences were observed across test performances. Females aged 15-16 years performed faster on the TMT-A than males. In the same age group, females also obtained higher scores on the ROCFT Copy test compared to males. In the oldest age group, females had higher scores on the ROCFT Organization Index compared to males. Older age was weakly associated with better performance on the SDTVART Reaction time and the ROCFT Copy and Organization scores. Overall, TMT-B showed the highest number of significant correlations with the other testes across cognitive domains. In this sample, dyslexia or adapted education were not significantly related to performance on neuropsychological tests. There was a tendency towards that those with adapted education had lower scores on the Rey Organization Index. Conclusions: The cognitive tests included in this study was easy to administer to adolescents, and all participants completed the tests. They may be useful as a screening test battery or supplementary to a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment when assessing potential to drive among Norwegian adolescents with cognitive deficits prior to driving training. The results obtained in this descriptive study may serve as reference data.