Adolescent exposure to drink driving as a predictor of young adults’ drink driving.
Publication: 2013. "Accid Anal Prev" 51 (March): 185-91.
Identifier(s): PubMed ID: 23246711; PMCID: PMC3576432; ISSN: 1879-2057; Citation Key: 7426
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2012.11.016
Publication type: Journal Article
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Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of exposure to others’ drink driving during adolescence on self-reported driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol in young adulthood. Data were drawn from 1956 participants with a driving license enrolled in the International Youth Development Study from Victoria, Australia. During 2003 and 2004, adolescents in Grades 7, 9 and 10 (aged 12-17) completed questionnaires examining whether they had ridden in a vehicle with a driver who had been drinking, as well as other demographic, individual, peer and family risk factors for DUI. In 2010, the same participants (aged 18-24) then reported on their own DUI behaviour. 18% of young adults with a driving license reported DUI in the past 12 months. Exposure to others’ drink driving during adolescence was associated with an increased likelihood of DUI as a young adult (OR=2.13, 95% CI 1.68-2.69). This association remained after accounting for the effects of other potential confounding factors from the individual, peer and family domains (OR=1.62, 95% CI 1.23-2.13). Observing the drink driving behaviours of others during adolescence may increase the likelihood of DUI as a young adult. Strategies to reduce youth exposure to drink driving are warranted.