title: Intention to Drive After Drinking Among Medical Students: Contributions of the Protection Motivation Theory.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate whether cognitive variables proposed by the protection motivation theory (PMT) were predictive of occasional and frequent intention to drive after drinking in medical students.
  
  
  
  One hundred fifty-five students attending preclinical years at a Medical School in São Paulo, Brazil, participated in the study. They were asked about their last month substance use, history of drinking and driving, including driving after binge drinking, and risk perceptions based on a self-report questionnaire with statements about protection motivation, threat, and coping appraisals from the PMT model.
  
  
  
  Fifty-two students (33%) had previous experience of driving after drinking during the last year, and 54 students (35%) reported intention to drive after drinking within the next year. Regression analysis showed that higher scores in perception of personal vulnerability to risks were associated with occasional and frequent intention to continue pursuing this particular behavior. Poorer evaluations about short-term consequences of alcohol consumption and cognitions regarding external rewards were significantly associated with reported intention to continue driving after drinking.
  
  
  
  Considering the social and health impact of alcohol-impaired behaviors, our findings suggest the need of interventional efforts focused in increasing students' awareness about the negative consequences of drinking and driving aiming to enhance their motivation towards more adaptive behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry (IPq), School of Medicine (RAA, AM, DRL, VCVS, CG, AGdA); Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences (CG), University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo; and ABC School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Santo Andre (AGdA), Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo Abrantes
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Amaral
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malbergier
authors.forename: Danielle Ruiz
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: Verena Castellani Vitor
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Clarice
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gorenstein
authors.forename: Arthur Guerra de
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Andrade
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000067292:Alcohol Drinking in College / Q000523:psychology*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012309:Risk-Taking; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult