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Drinking, Drug Use, and Driving Among Rural Midwestern Youth
Author(s) -
Sarvela Paul D.,
Pape Deborah Jenkins,
Odulana Justin,
Bajracharya Srijana M.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/j.1746-1561.1990.tb05918.x
Subject(s) - driving under the influence , injury prevention , environmental health , poison control , stepwise regression , medicine , human factors and ergonomics , suicide prevention , occupational safety and health , demography , drug , psychiatry , pathology , sociology
Data concerning self‐reported driving after drinking or using other drugs were collected from 3,382 junior and senior high school students in rural central and southern Illinois. Drinking, drug use, and driving increased steadily with age, with 42% of the 12th grade class indicating they had driven a car at least one time in the past six months after drinking or using other drugs. Riding with a driver who had been drinking also increased with age; 20% of the seventh grade sample had ridden in a car with a drinking driver, while 58% of the 12th grade sample reported having done so. Slightly more females had ridden in a car with a driver who had been drinking than males, while males reported higher rates of driving after drinking or using other drugs than females. Correlation analyses indicated 22 variables related significantly to drinking, drug use, and driving. Forward stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that 11 variables related significantly to riding as a passenger with a drinking driver. Thirteen variables were related significantly to driving after drinking or using other drugs. Frequency of alcohol use variables were the most powerful indicators of self‐reported driving after drinking or using other drugs in this sample.