Parent–Teen Disagreement of Parent-Imposed Restrictions on Teen Driving After One Month of Licensure: Is Discordance Related to Risky Teen Driving?

The purpose of the investigation was to determine if parent-teen discordance for parent-imposed restrictions on driving conditions, driving rules, and the consequences for driving rule violations were related to risky teen driving. A total of 579 parents and their newly licensed teens were interviewed by telephone, 1 month after teens obtained provisional licenses. In multiple regression analyses, the degree of disagreement with parent restrictions on driving conditions and parent-imposed consequences for driving rule violations were negatively associated with a composite measure of teen risky driving. Female parents were negatively associated and male teens were positively associated with risky driving, but discordance with restricted driving conditions was the most important predictor. Discordance may reflect poor parent–teen relations or inadequate communication about parental expectations. The findings suggest that increasing parent–teen concordance on parent-imposed driving restrictions may help reduce risky teen driving.