Marijuana and other substance use among male and female underage drinkers who drive after drinking and ride with those who drive after drinking

Abstract

The study sought to describe the occurrence of adolescent driving after drinking (DD) and riding with a driver who had been drinking (RWDD) and associations with substance use for both males and females. As part of screening for a randomized controlled trial, we surveyed 16-20year olds (N=3418) recruited from an emergency department (ED) and analyzed data from those reporting past-year alcohol consumption (n=2150, 58% females). DD was reported by 22% of females and 28% of males and RWDD was reported by 39% of females and 38% of males, also in the past year. In regression models, risky alcohol use and past-year marijuana use were associated with increased odds of DD and RWDD for females and males. Marijuana use was a strong predictor, with odds increased by 2.3 and 1.7 times for DD among females and males respectively and 1.4 times for RWDD for females and males. Prescription drug misuse was also associated with RWDD for females and for both males' and females' reported DD. The findings highlight the alarming rate of DD and RWDD among both males and females and suggest ED-based injury prevention efforts consider such risky road behavior as well as consider their substance use. Future research might also further examine the effects of driving under influence of substances, particularly marijuana, and the negative synergistic effects of co-ingestion prior to driving.

Driving Safety in Adolescents and Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes

“…However, the rate of driving after alcohol use was lower than has been reported in other studies of AYAs without type 1 diabetes. It is estimated that nearly one-fourth of AYAs in the general population drive after consuming alcohol, whereas only about 10% of AYAs with type 1 diabetes in our study reported doing so (23). This finding suggests there is likely some effective education and awareness around the impact of alcohol on blood glucose, specifically that alcohol contributes to acute and delayed-onset hypoglycemia and can also exacerbate the effects of hypoglycemia (33,34).…”

“…Driving after alcohol or marijuana use increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), and prevalence of driving after use of these substances has been reported to be high among AYAs (21). Studies have indicated that, in the United States, 12-28% of AYAs report driving under the influence of alcohol, and 3-11% report driving under the influence of marijuana (18,22,23). Additionally, use of cell phones and texting are major causes of distracted driving and MVAs (24).…”

Brief Underage Alcohol Use Screener Scores Predict Health Risk Behaviors

“…The findings of the present study document that specific adolescent health risk behaviors are associated significantly with adolescents' own and their perceptions of peers' underage alcohol use as indexed by a brief, developmentally informed 2-item underage alcohol use screening tool. Previous studies have highlighted the role of adolescents' risky patterns of alcohol use in the increased likelihood of DUI or riding with an intoxicated driver (Buckley et al, 2017) as well as other forms of substance use, with increases in both short-and long-term risk for morbidity and mortality (Moss, Chen, & Yi, 2014;Terry-McElrath, O'Malley, & Johnston, 2013). Underage alcohol consumption in the company of peers is also significantly associated with a wide range of sexual and other risk behaviors during adolescence (Hingson & White, 2014;Monahan, Rhew, Hawkins, & Brown, 2014;Stueve & O'Donnell, 2005).…”

Marijuana Use and Driving Under the Influence among Young Adults: A Socioecological Perspective on Risk Factors

“…Another study of over 2000 young adults found that 15.2% reported any type of DUI, with the greatest proportion (5.02%) reporting driving after marijuana use and 4.34% after using alcohol and 2.41% after using marijuana and alcohol (Li, Simons-Morton, Gee, & Hingson, 2016). In addition, recent research has indicated that marijuana use is also a predictor of DUI of alcohol, and riding with someone DUI of alcohol (Buckley et al, 2017). …”