Despina Stavrinos

Despina Stavrinos
Professor

Associate Professor (S), Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation , School of Medicine
Scientist (C), Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) , General Clinical Research Center
Scientist (C), Comprehensive Neuroscience Center , General Clinical Research Center
Associate Scientist (C), Civitan International Research Center , Academic Joint Departments
Professor (P), Psychology , College of Arts and Sciences

Overview

Dr. Stavrinos is the Director of the Translational Research for Injury Prevention (TRIP) Laboratory. The TRIP Lab offers students at various levels of training (high school, undergraduate, graduate, post-doc) and from various disciplines (e.g., psychology, medicine, public health, engineering, computer science) the opportunity to conduct high quality behavioral research. Since its establishment in 2009, nearly 100 students have been trained under Stavrinos’ mentorship.

Experiential learning is one of the key principles guiding Dr. Stavrinos’ teaching philosophy. She is a firm believer that students learn best when they actively participate, whether in a research or classroom setting. Within a research context, experiential learning takes place when students are actively involved in all aspects of the research process. Under her direction, students:

assist with the development of protocols
recruit research participants
run participants through experimental protocols
process and enter data into statistical software
disseminate research findings through presentations at scientific conferences and publications in scientific journals.
These experiences challenge students to truly grasp what research is all about, from start to finish, and they reflect on these experiences through weekly writing assignments and presentations. Dr. Stavrinos provides constructive feedback in a timely manner, and fellow students also provide comments to each other, thus providing a bidirectional opportunity for learning; those providing feedback further their understanding and advance their critical thinking skills, and those receiving feedback learn how to accept critiques from multiple perspectives. Experiential learning enables students to develop a strong research skill set they can apply towards future work.

For more information about the TRIP Lab, please visit our website at www.triplaboratory.com.

Transportation safety across the lifespan (teens, older adults, developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injury), cognitive development and injury prevention, translational research, virtual reality/simulation methods

Selected Publications

Academic Article

Year	Title	Altmetric
2023	Severity and correlates of brain fog in people with traumatic brain injury. Research in Nursing and Health. 46:136-147. 2023
2023	Driving Attitudes and Avoidance in Drivers with ASD or ADHD 2023
2022	Time-to-Collision Estimations in Young Drivers with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 52:3933-3948. 2022
2022	Transportation Barriers and Health-Related Quality of Life in a Sample of Middle-Aged and Older Adults Living with HIV in the Deep South. AIDS and Behavior. 26:2148-2158. 2022
2022	Executive Function Brain Network Activation Predicts Driving Hazard Detection in ADHD 2022
2022	Cognitive reserve attenuates the association between HIV serostatus and cognitive performance in adults living in the deep South. Applied neuropsychology. Adult. 29:993-1002. 2022
2021	Interactive Effects of Neighborhood Safety and Screen Time on Adolescent Internalizing Symptoms. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. 42:734-741. 2021
2021	Trajectories of self-regulatory driving practices: Role of learner phase practice. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 162. 2021
2021	Validation of the attention-related driving errors scale in novice adolescent drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 159. 2021
2021	Gender moderates the relationship between media use and sleep quality. Journal of Sleep Research. 30. 2021
2021	When driving hurts: Characterizing the experience and impact of driving with back pain. Scandinavian Journal of Pain. 21:445-456. 2021
2021	Longitudinal associations between internalizing symptoms and driving avoidance in newly licensed adolescents. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 77:1131-1148. 2021
2021	Use of multilevel modeling to examine variability of distracted driving behavior in naturalistic driving studies. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 152. 2021
2021	Behind the wheels with autism and ADHD: Brain networks involved in driving hazard detection. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 77:274-292. 2021
2021	Developmental trajectories of driving attention in adolescents: Preliminary findings from REACT. Traffic Injury Prevention. 22:S163-S165. 2021
2021	Evaluating disparities in child occupant protection using a proportion-eliminated approach to mediation. Traffic Injury Prevention. 22:252-255. 2021
2021	Neuropsychological predictors of driving hazard detection in autism spectrum disorder and ADHD. Child Neuropsychology. 27:857-887. 2021
2021	The effect of prior night sleep on simulated driving performance in medical residents. Traffic Injury Prevention. 22:S159-S160. 2021
2020	Methodological considerations for longitudinal investigations of young drivers. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 75:214-221. 2020
2020	Personality determinants of subjective executive function in older adults. Aging and Mental Health. 24:1935-1944. 2020
2020	Rewards decrease risky decisions for adolescent drivers: Implications for crash prevention. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 74:272-279. 2020
2020	Adolescent driving behavior before and during restrictions related to COVID-19. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 144. 2020
2020	Demographic, driving experience, and psychosocial predictors of adolescent distracted driving beliefs. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 144. 2020
2020	Variations in booster seat use by child characteristics. Journal of Safety Research. 74:89-95. 2020
2020	Differences in postinjury psychological symptoms between collegiate athletes with concussions and orthopedic injuries. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. 30:360-365. 2020
2020	Sleep and stress before and after duty across residency years under 2017 ACGME hours 2020
2020	Effects of speed of processing training and transcranial direct current stimulation on global sleep quality and speed of processing in older adults with and without HIV: A pilot study. Applied neuropsychology. Adult. 27:267-278. 2020
2019	Developmental Aspects of Unintentional Injury Prevention Among Youth: Implications for Practice. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 13:565-573. 2019
2019	Characterizing the Learning-to-Drive Period for Teens with Attention Deficits. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. 40:581-588. 2019
2019	Prevalence and Safety of Left-Footed Driving Following Right Foot Surgery Patients Including a Driving Simulation. Foot and Ankle International. 40:818-825. 2019
2019	Impact of adolescent media multitasking on cognition and driving safety 2019
2019	Adolescents' perspectives on distracted driving legislation. Journal of Safety Research. 68:173-179. 2019
2019	Pain, Pain Catastrophizing, and Individual Differences in Executive Function in Adolescence. Children's Health Care. 48:18-37. 2019
2018	A pilot investigation on the effects of combination transcranial direct current stimulation and speed of processing cognitive remediation therapy on simulated driving behavior in older adults with HIV. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 58:1061-1073. 2018
2018	Relations between a laboratory-based sustained attention task and traffic violations in an Iranian sample of drivers. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 58:177-183. 2018
2018	Return to Driving after Hip Arthroscopy. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. 28:299-303. 2018
2018	Effect of electronic device use while driving on cardiovascular reactivity. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 54:188-195. 2018
2018	The effect of poor sleep and occupational demands on driving safety in medical residents. Traffic Injury Prevention. 19:S137-S140. 2018
2018	Correction: Driving among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (Safety (2018) 4 (40) DOI: 10.3390/safety4030040). Safety. 4. 2018
2018	Distracted Walking, Bicycling, and Driving: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Mobile Technology and Youth Crash Risk. Child Development. 89:118-128. 2018
2018	Driving among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Safety. 4. 2018
2017	Aggression, emotional self-regulation, attentional bias, and cognitive inhibition predict risky driving behavior. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 109:78-88. 2017
2017	Commercial motor vehicle driving performance: An examination of attentional resources and control using a driving simulator. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. 23:191-203. 2017
2017	Social and Non-social Hazard Response in Drivers with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 47:905-917. 2017
2017	Mechanisms behind distracted driving behavior: The role of age and executive function in the engagement of distracted driving. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 98:123-129. 2017
2016	Commentary: Routh early career award: How i navigated my early career as a pediatric psychologist. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. 41:1060-1066. 2016
2016	The useful field of view assessment predicts simulated commercial motor vehicle driving safety. Traffic Injury Prevention. 17:763-769. 2016
2016	Commercial Truck Driver Health and Safety. Workplace Health and Safety. 64:369-376. 2016
2016	Visual behavior differences in drivers across the lifespan: A digital billboard simulator study. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 41:19-28. 2016
2016	The neuroprotective influence of employment on cognitive reserve: Implications for an aging HIV population. Journal of HIV/AIDS and Social Services. 15:284-298. 2016
2016	Differential impact of personality traits on distracted driving behaviors in teens and older adults. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 92:107-112. 2016
2016	Association between Executive Function and Problematic Adolescent Driving. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. 37:702-711. 2016
2015	Predicting Motor Vehicle Collisions in a Driving Simulator in Young Adults Using the Useful Field of View Assessment. Traffic Injury Prevention. 16:818-823. 2015
2015	Distracted Driving in Teens With and Without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Pediatric Nursing. 30:e183-e191. 2015
2015	Predicting aberrant driving behaviour: The role of executive function. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 34:18-28. 2015
2015	The Impact of Billboards on Driver Visual Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review. Traffic Injury Prevention. 16:234-239. 2015
2014	Symptom Dimensions of Disruptive Behavior Disorders in Adolescent Drivers. Journal of Attention Disorders. 18:496-503. 2014
2013	Impact of distracted driving on safety and traffic flow. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 61:63-70. 2013
2013	Predictors of health-related quality-of-life following traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury. 27:992-999. 2013
2012	Distraction and pedestrian safety: How talking on the phone, texting, and listening to music impact crossing the street. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 45:266-271. 2012
2011	Distracted driving among adolescents: Challenges and opportunities. Injury Prevention. 17:285. 2011
2011	Mediating factors associated with pedestrian injury in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics. 128:296-302. 2011
2011	Distracted walking: Cell phones increase injury risk for college pedestrians. Journal of Safety Research. 42:101-107. 2011
2009	Attentional control, high intensity pleasure, and risky pedestrian behavior in college students. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 41:658-661. 2009
2009	The influence of carrying a backpack on college student pedestrian safety. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 41:352-356. 2009
2009	Effect of cell phone distraction on pediatric pedestrian injury risk. Pediatrics. 123. 2009
2009	The role of psychology in injury prevention efforts. Injury Prevention. 15:69. 2009
2009	Children's spoken word recognition and contributions to phonological awareness and nonword repetition: A 1-year follow-up. Applied Psycholinguistics. 30:101-121. 2009
2008	Self-immolation in Iran. Journal of Burn Care and Research. 29:451-460. 2008
	A Naturalistic Driving Study Across the Lifespan

Research Overview

For the past decade Dr. Stavrinos has been conducting research in transportation, for which she has received funding from multiple federal agencies including NIH, NSF, CDC, and USDOT. The focus of her research program is the prevention and control of unintentional injuries, particularly those resulting from motor vehicle crashes, the leading killer of people ages 5-24. Dr. Stavrinos’ research considers the broad context of unintentional injury prevention and control, and in particular examines driving in at-risk populations, including novice, teen drivers, distracted drivers, drivers with developmental disabilities such as ADHD and Autism, and older drivers. Dr. Stavrinos employs a variety of methodologies to study driving behavior, including driving simulation, self-report surveys, police crash reports, and naturalistic (observational) data capture.

In Fall 2017, Dr. Stavrinos and the TRIP Lab will launch a new 5-year study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH-NICHD). This longitudinal study will test the influence of age and driving experience on driving attention development under various conditions, and will identify underlying cognitive mechanisms of attention development and ultimately the occurrences of MVCs. Findings will have significant implications for targeted interventions to reduce MVCs and policy regarding optimal age and experience for licensure. It will be the first longitudinal study of attention in the driving context.