title: Alcohol/drug abuse, driving convictions, and risk-taking dispositions among trauma center patients.
abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between alcohol/drug abuse diagnoses, driving convictions (speeding, reckless driving, impaired driving, license violations), and risk-taking dispositions among a series of injured drivers admitted to a trauma center. The driving records of 778 patients were linked to diagnoses of psychoactive substance use disorders (PSUDs), admission blood alcohol concentration (BAC), mode of injury, and results of a risk-taking disposition survey. Twenty-nine percent of patients had one or more convictions in the 3 years before injury. Types of violation were not related to mode of injury. Although there was a positive association between prior impaired-driving convictions, current alcohol dependence, and a BAC + status, a consistent pattern relative to other violations, PSUDs, and BAC status was not apparent. Risk-taking disposition scale scores indicated that patients without PSUDs and without convictions tended toward less risk-taking behavior than patients with PSUDs and with convictions. The complex inter-relationships between PSUDs, risk-taking dispositions, and being convicted of driving dangerously require additional study so that intervention programs and injury prevention initiatives can be targeted effectively.
authors.affiliation: R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore 21201, USA. csoderstrom@umm.edu
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Soderstrom
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Ballesteros
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Dischinger
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Kerns
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Flint
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D015984:Causality; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012449:Safety; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014193:Trauma Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D000431:Ethanol