POSTED: Saturday, April 14, 2012 - 3:30pm

UPDATED: Saturday, April 14, 2012 - 3:34pm

NEW ORLEANS, LA —
University of New Orleans psychology professor Robert Laird has received a three-year $515,000 grant from the William T. Grant Foundation to study parenting new teen drivers.

Laird, an associate professor of psychology, will examine how a new driver in the family changes the dynamics of parent-adolescent interactions. Car crash injuries are the leading cause of death among adolescents and the goal of the study is to understand how parents can make driving safer.

Laird will recruit families from driver’s education classes. A sample of 250 racially diverse teen-parent pairs will complete self-report surveys and a series of tasks designed to elicit conversations between parents and teens. Through the lens of an important developmental milestone, Laird hopes to gain a better understanding of how autonomy and independence are negotiated by parents and adolescents.

The William T. Grant Foundation supports high-quality research to improve the lives of young people.