Motor vehicle accidents and adolescents. An empirical study on their emotional and behavioral profiles, defense strategies and parental support

Background: Research has limitedly focused on adolescents’ emotional–behavioral functioning preceding road collisions and on the role of family support. Objective: To verify whether the rates of motorbikes collisions among adolescents are associated with their emotional–behavioral functioning, their use of specific defense strategies and family support. Method: N = 150 adolescents who visited an emergency department for road accidents were selected and completed self-report questionnaires assessing emotional–behavioral functioning, difficulty in identifying and describing emotions, use of defense strategies and perceived family support. Results: Higher rates of motorbike collisions are associated with more maladaptive emotional–behavioral functioning. Higher perceived family support is associated with lower rates of collisions. Conclusions: Recidivism of motor vehicle collision among adolescents can be considered as a form of acting-out caused by their psychological difficulties