TY - JOUR
T1 - Alcohol-impaired driving behavior and sensation-seeking disposition in a college population receiving routine care at campus health services centers
AU - Zakletskaia, Larissa I.
AU - Mundt, Marlon P.
AU - Balousek, Stacey L.
AU - Wilson, Ellen L.
AU - Fleming, Michael F.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by NIH/NIAAA grant no. 1R01 AA014685-01. We thank anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments which enhanced the quality of this paper.
PY - 2009/5
Y1 - 2009/5
N2 - Accidents stemming from alcohol-impaired driving are the leading cause of injury and death among college students. Research has implicated certain driver personality characteristics in the majority of these motor vehicle crashes. Sensation seeking in particular has been linked to risky driving, alcohol consumption, and driving while intoxicated. This study investigated the effect of sensation seeking on self-reported alcohol-impaired driving behavior in a college student population while adjusting for demographics, residence and drinking locations. A total of 1587 college students over the age of 18 completed a health screening survey while presenting for routine, non-urgent care at campus heath services centers. Student demographics, living situation, most common drinking location, heavy episodic drinking, sensation-seeking disposition and alcohol-impaired driving behavior were assessed. Using a full-form logistic regression model to isolate sensation seeking after adjusting for covariates, sensation seeking remains a statistically significant independent predictor of alcohol-impaired driving behavior (OR = 1.52; CI = 1.19-1.94; p < 0.001). Older, white, sensation-seeking college students who engage in heavy episodic drinking, live off-campus, and go to bars are at highest risk for alcohol-impaired driving behaviors. Interventions should target sensation seekers and environmental factors that mediate the link between sensation seeking and alcohol-impaired driving behaviors.
AB - Accidents stemming from alcohol-impaired driving are the leading cause of injury and death among college students. Research has implicated certain driver personality characteristics in the majority of these motor vehicle crashes. Sensation seeking in particular has been linked to risky driving, alcohol consumption, and driving while intoxicated. This study investigated the effect of sensation seeking on self-reported alcohol-impaired driving behavior in a college student population while adjusting for demographics, residence and drinking locations. A total of 1587 college students over the age of 18 completed a health screening survey while presenting for routine, non-urgent care at campus heath services centers. Student demographics, living situation, most common drinking location, heavy episodic drinking, sensation-seeking disposition and alcohol-impaired driving behavior were assessed. Using a full-form logistic regression model to isolate sensation seeking after adjusting for covariates, sensation seeking remains a statistically significant independent predictor of alcohol-impaired driving behavior (OR = 1.52; CI = 1.19-1.94; p < 0.001). Older, white, sensation-seeking college students who engage in heavy episodic drinking, live off-campus, and go to bars are at highest risk for alcohol-impaired driving behaviors. Interventions should target sensation seekers and environmental factors that mediate the link between sensation seeking and alcohol-impaired driving behaviors.
KW - Alcohol
KW - College students
KW - Impaired driving
KW - Sensation seeking
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U2 - 10.1016/j.aap.2008.12.006
DO - 10.1016/j.aap.2008.12.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 19393782
AN - SCOPUS:64849102908
VL - 41
SP - 380
EP - 386
JO - Accident Analysis and Prevention
JF - Accident Analysis and Prevention
SN - 0001-4575
IS - 3
ER -