Assessing the Likelihood of Drunk Driving: Gender, Context and Lifestyle

• NCJ Number: 179041
• Journal: Journal of Crime & Justice Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: 1999 Pages: 57-93
• Author(s): Elizabeth Ehrhardt Mustaine; Richard Tewksbury
• Editor(s): J. Mitchell Miller
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 37 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined factors relevant to drinking and driving for separate samples of male and female American college students.

Abstract

Study data came from self-administered surveys collected during the first three weeks of the Fall 1996 academic term. A total of 1,513 college/university students (57.7 percent males and 42.3 percent females) in 9 post-secondary institutions in 8 States completed the survey. Drawing on routine activity theory, direct measures of seven theoretical groups of possible influences on drunk driving were assessed. The 95-item study instrument assessed a wide range of individual demographics, experiences, daily routines, residential and social community activities, and substance uses. A variety of illegal actions were measured, ranging from being drunk in public to physical fights, the use/sale/purchase of illegal drugs, prostitution, vandalism, and theft. The dependent variable, having driven while drunk, was assessed by using respondents' self-report of whether they had "driven drunk" within the most recent 6 months. A total of 27 percent of the full samples, 35.7 percent of the male sample, and 20.4 percent of the female sample reported that they drove drunk recently. Findings clearly show that it is more important to consider opportunities and lifestyles rather than merely status indicators when assessing drunk-driving probabilities. Most importantly, drunk-driving likelihood increased when students drank away from home. Persons who held more tolerant views of illegal behavior (including drug use) were most likely to drink and drive. Males' drunk-driving likelihood was influenced by their alcohol and drug consumption routines, participation in illegal behaviors, and leisure activities. For females, drunk-driving likelihood was contingent on alcohol and drug-consumption routines, participation in minor forms of illegal behavior, leisure activities, and transportation routines. 5 tables and 61 references