title: Drinking and driving and riding with an alcohol impaired driver among United States Air Force recruits.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the prevalence and correlates of binge drinking, driving after drinking, and riding in a vehicle with a driver who had consumed alcohol in US Air Force active duty recruits.
  
  
  METHODS
  A military cohort (N = 31,108; 25.1% female) was analyzed to identify variables associated with binge drinking, drinking and driving, and riding with a driver who had consumed alcohol.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results indicated that 53 percent (including 45% of those under the legal drinking age) reported alcohol use in the month prior to entering basic military training (BMT). Thirty-eight percent of all active duty recruits reported binge drinking (ie, consuming 5 or more drinks on a single occasion) at least one time in the past 30 days. Nearly 1 in 4 (23%) reported 1 to 3 episodes of binge drinking. Three percent of reported alcohol users drove after consuming five or more drinks, and 9 percent rode as a passenger in a vehicle with a driver who had been drinking heavily.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Several demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal correlates of risky drinking patterns were identified. Prevention efforts are needed to address the implications of these findings because they influence the health, safety, and military readiness of active duty personnel.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, Tennessee 38163, USA. mdebon@uthsc.edu
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: DeBon
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Vander Weg
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sherrill-Mittleman
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Klesges
authors.forename: Gerald W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Talcott
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012309:Risk-Taking; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult