Predicting Driving After Drinking Over Time Among College Students: The Emerging Role of Injunctive Normative Perceptions

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: Despite prevention efforts, driving after drinking (DAD) is a prevalent high-risk behavior among college students and is a leading cause of death and injury. Examination of factors predicting future DAD behavior is necessary to develop effi cacious targeted interventions to reduce this behavior among college students. The current study evaluated demographic, social cognitive, and behavioral predictors of DAD using longitudinal data. Method: Participants were 655 nonabstaining college students (67.2% female; 60.3% White; M age = 19.3 years) who completed online surveys at two time points 12 months apart. Results: Results revealed that participants consistently overestimated their peers' approval (injunctive norms) of DAD. In a three-step hierarchical logistic regression model, injunctive norms, age, and past DAD behavior uniquely contributed to the prediction of this behavior 12 months later. Neither sex nor membership in a sorority or fraternity emerged as signifi cant predictors. Conclusions: The fi ndings provide important new insights into the longitudinal predictors of DAD among college students and highlight the need for DAD interventions, particularly among older students. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 73, 726-730, 2012)

Drinking-and-Driving–Related Cognitions Mediate the Relationship Between Alcohol Demand and Alcohol-Impaired Driving

“…Our results are consistent with partial mediation, suggesting that elevated demand confers unique risk for drinking and driving, independent of the drinking-and-driving-related cognitions we examined. More generally, these findings are consistent with the broader literature suggesting that cognitive factors serve to connect distal risk factors to engagement in risky behaviors such as drinking and driving (e.g., LaBrie et al, 2012;Treloar et al, 2012). The finding that drinking drivers have greater perceived safe driving limits is consistent with the limited number of studies in this area (Gulliver & Begg, 2004;Royal, 2003).…”

“…For instance, individuals are more likely to engage in drinking and driving if they perceive drinking and driving as less dangerous (Amlung et al, 2014;Bingham et al, 2007;Morris et al, 2014), believe that their peers are more accepting of drinking and driving (Bingham et al, 2007;LaBrie et al, 2012), or have higher perceived alcohol limits for driving safely (Gulliver & Begg, 2004;Royal, 2003). Theoretical models of risk behavior such as the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991), and models specific to alcohol-related behaviors such as the Acquired Preparedness Model (Corbin et al, 2011;Settles et al, 2014), posit that these factors reflect a common pathway by which distal risk factors (e.g., impulsivity) converge to influence engagement in specific behaviors, including drinking and driving (LaBrie et al, 2012;Treloar et al, 2012). …”

Continuity of drunk and drugged driving behaviors four years post-college

“…The observed increases in both DAD and DWI during the college years are consistent with prior evidence from college student samples (LaBrie et al, 2012; Quinn and Fromme, 2012). Interestingly, the finding that DAD plateaued after Year 4 mirrors the post-college trends in alcohol frequency that were recently documented among this sample (Arria et al, 2016).…”

“…Among this population, prevalence estimates for driving after drinking (DAD) during the past three months range from 15% (Kenney et al, 2013) to 43% (McCarthy et al, 2007). Longitudinal research on AOD-involved driving is available among three college student samples, including the cohort that is the subject of the present study (Arria et al, 2011; LaBrie et al, 2012; Quinn and Fromme, 2012). Results show an increase in the prevalence of DAD across the college years (LaBrie et al, 2012; Quinn and Fromme, 2012) and that past DAD is a strong predictor of future DAD (LaBrie et al, 2012), indicating persistence over time.…”

“…Longitudinal research on AOD-involved driving is available among three college student samples, including the cohort that is the subject of the present study (Arria et al, 2011; LaBrie et al, 2012; Quinn and Fromme, 2012). Results show an increase in the prevalence of DAD across the college years (LaBrie et al, 2012; Quinn and Fromme, 2012) and that past DAD is a strong predictor of future DAD (LaBrie et al, 2012), indicating persistence over time. Research with the current cohort has documented the trends in driving while intoxicated (DWI), DAD, and drugged driving (DD) during college (Arria et al, 2011; Beck et al, 2010).…”