AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS AS EXPRESSIONS OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN AN ALCOHOLIC POPULATION

THE PRESENT REPORT IS AN ATTEMPT TO DOCUMENT THE EXTENT OF ALCOHOLIC DRIVERS' RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND TO DETERMINE WHETHER PERSONALITY FACTORS HAVE ANY MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP TO THOSE ACCIDENTS. FIFTY ALCOHOLIC MALE AUTOMOBILE DRIVERS SERIALLY ADMITTED TO THE VETERANS READJUSTMENT CENTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDICAL CENTER COMPRISED THE STUDY GROUP. THE CONTROL GROUP CONSISTED OF 50 EMOTIONALLY ILL NONALCOHOLIC MALE VETERANS SERIALLY ADMITTED TO THE SAME FACILITY. WHEN THE ACCIDENTS AND MOVING VIOLATIONS OF THE ALCOHOLIC AND NONALCOHOLIC GROUPS ARE COMPARED, 2 STRIKING FACTS EMERGE. THE 50 ALCOHOLICS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR APPROXIMATELY TWICE THE NUMBER OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND TWICE THE NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS AS THEIR NONALCOHOLIC COUNTERPARTS. SECONDLY, THE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ALCOHOLIC AND NONALCOHOLIC GROUPS WERE DUE TO TRAFFIC EVENTS OCCURRING WHEN THE ALCOHOLICS HAD BEEN DRINKING, ALTHOUGH TOTAL ACCIDENTS AND VIOLATIONS INCURRED WHEN SOBER WERE VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL FOR THE 2 GROUPS. A GREATER AMOUNT OF VARIATION IN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS REMAINS UNEXPLAINED IN THE NONALCOHOLIC GROUP THAN IN THE ALCOHOLIC GROUP. THIS CONTRAST MAY INDICATE THAT PSYCHOPATHOLOGY PLAYS A MORE SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE ACCIDENTS INCURRED BY ALCOHOLIC POPULATIONS. A NUMBER OF PERSONALITY VARIABLES APPEAR TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY ALCOHOLICS. THE DATA DERIVED FROM THE REGRESSION ANALYSES INDICATE THAT CERTAIN COMBINATIONS OF PERSONALITY DIFFICULTY ARE HIGHLY PREDICTIVE OF ACCIDENT POTENTIAL. TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY ALCOHOLIC DRIVERS SHOULD BE REGARDED AS THE OUTCOME OF THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CERTAIN DELETERIOUS PERSONALITY TRAITS WHICH ARE LIBERATED WHEN THE ALCOHOLIC BECOMES INTOXICATED AND THE IMPAIRMENT IN DRIVING CAUSED BY ALCOHOL INTOXICATION. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 28, No 3, PP 505-516
• Authors:
  • SELZER, M L
  • Payne, C E
  • Quinn, J
  • Westervelt, F H
• Publication Date: 1967-9

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol
  • Publisher: Rutgers University, New Brunswick

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohols; Control groups; Drunk driving; Personality; Traffic crashes; Variables
• Uncontrolled Terms: Motor vehicle accidents
• Old TRIS Terms: Psychopathology
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00219939
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 16 1994 12:00AM