title: The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST) and measures of cognitive functioning.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST) are utilised widely to assess fitness to drive when law enforcement suspects a driver's ability to drive is impaired, whether by drugs or alcohol. The SFST ostensibly achieve this through assessment of the level of drivers' cognitive and psychomotor impairment, although no studies have explicitly assessed the relatedness of cognitive ability and performance on the SFST. The current study aimed to assess the relationship between the three components of the SFST with a well validated computerised cognitive battery.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sub-set of 61 placebo condition participants comprised the sample, with 33 females and 28 males (mean age 25.45 years). Correlations between the individual SFST subscales 'Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus' (HGN), the 'One Leg Stand' (OLS) and the 'Walk and Turn' test (WAT) and Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) sub-scales of 'Quality of Working Memory', 'Power of Attention' and 'Continuity of Attention' were analysed using point-biserial correlation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty participants were included for analyses. A weak-moderate positive (five subscales) and a moderate-strong negative (two subscales) association was noted between seven of the nine individual CDR subscales and the SFST subscale of the WAT test (all p<0.05). Individually, a moderate positive association was noted between the sub-scale 'Nystagmus lack of smooth pursuit' and 'digit vigilance reaction time' and 'choice reaction time; reaction time' (both p<0.05) and 'Nystagmus head move and/or jerk' and 'simple reaction time' (p<0.001). When assessed as a partially composite factor, a comparable association was also noted between the composite score of the SFST subscale 'Nystagmus head move and/or jerk' and both (a) simple and (b) digit vigilance reaction time (both p<0.05). No association was noted between any of the individual cognitive variables and the SFST subscale 'OLS', or between composite cognitive scores 'Quality of Working Memory', 'Power of Attention' and 'Continuity of Attention' and total SFST scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Variation in some aspects of cognitive performance was found to be moderately and positively correlated with some individual aspects of the SFST; particularly among tasks which assess reaction time. Impairment of these cognitive processes can also contribute to the completion of complex tasks such as driving or the SFST. Complex behavioural tasks such as driving are often severely impaired due to intoxication, and thus in a practical sense, the SFST can still be considered a useful screening tool to identify drug or alcohol impaired drivers.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia; Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA, United States. Electronic address: ldowney@swin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Luke A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Downey
authors.affiliation: Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia.
authors.forename: Amie C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Hayley
authors.affiliation: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Amy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Porath-Waller
authors.affiliation: Road Policing Command, Victoria Police, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boorman
authors.affiliation: Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia.
authors.forename: Con
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stough
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000328:Adult; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D000066448:Driving Under the Influence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D011930:Reaction Time; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attention; CDR; Cognition; Memory; Psychomotor; Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST)