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Analyzing Predictors of Drinking and Driving among Gender Cohorts within a College Sample

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Abstract

The current study focuses on predominant predictors associated with men’s and women’s engagement in driving under the influence (DUI) in an attempt to determine whether gender-specific interventions would be more affective at reducing impaired vehicle operation. A male-only subsample (n = 863) and a female-only subsample (n = 975) from a survey administered at a large Southeastern university containing self-reported measures of DUI were used to evaluate gender differences in motivations and correlates of DUI behavior. A series of logistic regressions containing indicators drawn from theories of deviant behavior (e.g., Akers’ social learning theory (SLT) and Gottfredson and Hirshi’s low self-control (LSC) theory) yield results indicating that differential association and imitation, both factors associated with SLT, are significant predictors for both gender cohorts’ DUI behavior. Low self- control was a significant predictor within female-only models, but not the final male-only models. This suggests that peer associations and modeling may be targets of intervention generally, but that, as it relates to DUIs, women may particularly benefit from programs focused at limiting impulsivity and risk-taking behavior as these are components of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s LSC construct.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida, 12805 Pegasus Drive, Bldg. 80, Suite 311, Orlando, FL, 32816-1600, USA

    Justin Hoyle

  2. Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8105, Statesboro, GA, 30460-8105, USA

    Bryan Lee Miller, Chad Posick & Brenda Sims Blackwell

  3. Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC, 28223-0001, USA

    John M. Stogner

Authors
  1. Justin Hoyle
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  2. Bryan Lee Miller
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  3. John M. Stogner
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  4. Chad Posick
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  5. Brenda Sims Blackwell
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Correspondence to Bryan Lee Miller.

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Hoyle, J., Miller, B.L., Stogner, J.M. et al. Analyzing Predictors of Drinking and Driving among Gender Cohorts within a College Sample. Am J Crim Just 43, 754–767 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-017-9431-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-017-9431-5

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