Transitions in Riding With an Alcohol/Drug-Impaired Driver From Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood in the United States

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine changes and predictors of changes in riding with an alcohol/drugimpaired driver (RWI) from 10th grade through the fi rst post-high school year. Method: Transition models were used to estimate the association of four waves (W1-W4) of RWI with W4 environmental-status variables and time-varying covariates in the NEXT Generation Health Study, a nationally representative cohort of U.S. 10th graders (N = 2,785). Results: Overall, 33% (weighted) of adolescents reported RWI in the past 12 months in W1, and slightly declined in W2 (24%), W3 (27%), and W4 (26%). Across time, transition models with generalized estimating equations showed that RWI was more likely among those who previously reported RWI (ORs from 3.62 to 3.66, p < .001), substance use (ORs from 1.81 to 1.82, p < .001), and heavy episodic drinking (ORs from 1.85 to 1.86, p < .001). Those living on college campuses were somewhat more likely to engage in RWI (OR = 1.38, .05 < p <.10) than those living at home. The effects of parental monitoring knowledge and peer alcohol/ substance use on RWI were suppressed when individual substance use and heavy episodic drinking were taken into consideration. Conclusions: Substance use and heavy episodic drinking in previous waves and the history of RWI were persistent factors of RWI in a dynamic pattern. The setting in which emerging adults live during their fi rst post-high school year could affect their engagement in RWI. The fi ndings suggest that harm-reduction strategies should focus on the identifi cation of early RWI coupled with reduction of substance use and heavy episodic drinking. (J.

Putting Adolescents at Risk: Riding With Drinking Drivers Who Are Adults in the Home

“…In keeping with this pattern, more White non-Hispanic and Hispanic youth in our sample reported having substance-involved parents compared with other youth (17.3% vs. 9.4%, df = 1, p < .01, unpublished data). Interestingly, residence urbanicity did not affect RWDD-AH risk in this study, similar to other studies (Leadbeater et al, 2008;Vaca et al, 2016).…”

“…Although several prior studies examined adolescents' RWDD (Kann et al, 2014;Li et al, 2014;Poulin et al, 2007;Vaca et al, 2016), we found only one other study that specified riding with an adult drinking driver. In 2006, an anonymous survey of 2,594 Canadian 10th-12th graders found a lifetime prevalence of more than 50% reporting ever riding in a car with a drinking driver who was older than age 25 (Leadbeater et al, 2008).…”

“…Girls had more than 50% higher RWDD-AH risk than boys in our study. Prior studies show mixed findings regarding adolescent gender and riding risk, with one study of Canadian adolescents finding higher past-12-month "riding with a drunk driver" rates among girls (Poulin et al, 2007), whereas another in the United States found no increased risk (Vaca et al, 2016). However, a study examining driver licensure trends by gender found that, among individuals younger than age 45, more males held licenses than females (Sivak & Schoettle, 2012), suggesting that fe-males may be more reliant on other drivers than males.…”

Driving in search of analyses

“…Surveys can provide a wealth of information on potential contributing factors and are a rare source of information about driver attitudes and other dispositions. In ongoing research, my team annually examines in a national cohort of adolescents and young adults self‐reported risky driving behavior, including unsafe driving practices, potentially distracting secondary task engagement, and impaired driving …”

“…In ongoing research, my team annually examines in a national cohort of adolescents and young adults self-reported risky driving behavior, including unsafe driving practices, potentially distracting secondary task engagement, and impaired driving. 21,22…”