A Descriptive Analysis of the Social Context of Drinking Among First-Time DUI Offenders

The objective of this study was to understand the role of social context in contributing to the incidence of alcohol-impaired driving. Telephone interviews were conducted with 161 individuals who received a first-time driving under the influence (DUI) citation. They were predominantly white (70%), male (62%) and 21 to 45 years of age (62%). They were paid $25 for their participation. Questions were asked about their social network, the social context in which they typically drink, the specific location and circumstances where they were drinking at the time of their citation, risky driving behaviors in the last month as well as the number of traffic tickets they received and crashes they have been involved in since they started to drive. Two reliable social contexts of drinking were identified through principle components factors analysis: emotional pain and social facilitation. Analyses of variance showed that drinking in a context of emotional pain (e.g., to deal with depression, stress) was related to drinking alone at this location and driving when they know they have had too much to drink. Drinking in a context of social facilitation (e.g., with friends, to be sociable) was related to drinking more frequently and with others (versus alone) at this location. Social facilitation was also positively related to driving over the speed limit and running a red light/stop sign. It was concluded that the social context of drinking is important for understanding the social network of drinking drivers, because most (86%) said that someone from their social network was with them at this drinking location. The need to understand how significant others influence the context of drinking as well as the likelihood of impaired driving is critical for program development. These results suggest that different types of interventions are needed for offenders depending on their social context of drinking.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2011.564693
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/49192340
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission from Taylor & Francis.
• Authors:
  • Beck, Kenneth H
  • Ahmed, Ashraf
  • Farkas, Z Andrew
• Publication Date: 2011-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 306-311
• Serial:
  • Traffic Injury Prevention
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis
  • ISSN: 1538-9588
  • Serial URL: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/15389588.html

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohol use; Behavior; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Emotions; Human characteristics; Impaired drivers; Social factors; Surveys
• Uncontrolled Terms: Drinking patterns
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01352387
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Sep 23 2011 7:26AM