Drinking location and risk of alcohol-impaired driving among high school seniors.
This study investigated environmental predictors of teenagers' alcohol-impaired driving, such as drinking location and alcohol source. Data for this study were part of the 15 Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol Project. Relationships between drinking-driver status, alcohol source, drinking location, alcohol consumption, and individual demographics were determined for the full sample as well as for males and females separately, using mixed-model, logistic regression. Analyses were restricted to high school seniors who were drivers and who consumed alcohol within the last 30 days (N = 1,914). For males and females, the risk of alcohol-impaired driving rose significantly with increases in both the number of binge-drinking events and estimates of the number of drinks required to impair their driving. Drinking location was important in that students who drank outdoors or in a moving car or truck were at significant risk for drinking-driving. Drinking-driving risks specific to females were number of drinking occasions and drinking at someone else's house. Strategies to prevent drinking-driving among teenagers need to consider drinking patterns as well as drinking locations for both males and females.
Lee
J A
JA
University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, Minneapolis 55454, USA.
Jones-Webb
R J
RJ
Short
B J
BJ
Wagenaar
A C
AC
D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000431:Ethanol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D000431:Ethanol