This paper is concerned with the extent to which drink driving programmes can be used effectively in different cultural settings. The present study reports on the results of a survey of high school students in metropolitan (n=464), provincial town (n=292) and isolated rural schools (n=86) designed to see if there are any differences in their drink driving behaviours which should be taken into account in designing drink driving programmes for students in these regions. There were significant and consistent differences between the students from the rural and from the urban schools. Rural students were more likely to drink more frequently, to drink and drive and to be passengers of drink drivers. Their perceptions of the likelihood that members of their families and social networks would drink and drive were significantly higher and they were more likely to anticipate positive outcomes from drinking and driving than the students from the urban schools. Results are interpreted to suggest that drink driving education programmes for rural students need to take into account the social context of drink driving in their communities. (A)
Abstract