Illicit drug use, alcohol use and problem drinking among infrequent and frequent road ragers.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between illicit drug and alcohol use, problem drinking, and road rage. Particular attention is devoted to the association between these behaviors and frequent involvement in road rage activities. The data are taken from the 2002 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Monitor, a representative telephone survey with a sample of 2421 adults aged 18 and older in Ontario. A cluster analysis was performed and analysis of variance procedures were used to test for group differences. The cluster analysis revealed five distinct groups involved in various types of road rage behavior. Frequent road ragers, accounting for 5.3% of the sample, were involved in the most severe forms of road rage behavior and were most likely (24%) to report problem drinking and past year cannabis (23.8%), cocaine (5.4%), and ecstasy (10%) use. These data indicate that illicit drug use and alcohol problems are significantly greater for those involved in the most serious forms of road rage behavior. Further work is needed to identify the mechanisms by which illicit drug use and problem drinking are linked to road rage.
Butters
Jennifer E
JE
Centre for Urban Health Initiatives, University College, Room 259A, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 3H7. Jennifer_Butters@camh.net
Smart
Reginald G
RG
Mann
Robert E
RE
Asbridge
Mark
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011889:Rage; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D013287:Illicit Drugs