A multi-disciplinary research effort at University of Michigan is being carried out by researchers at the UM Medical School, the Transportation Research Institute's Social and Behavioral Analysis Division and the School of Public Health to assess factors influencing whether teens and young adults suffer from substance abuse and how that also affects their likelihood of experiencing traffic crashes. The longitudinal study follows children starting in fifth and sixth grade in 1984 through young adulthood. Starting in 1992, the respondents' driving histories were obtained, resulting in records for more than 13,000 subjects. The data are updated each year. Because most students completed the survey before they started drinking, their experiences before driving can be predictors of subsequent driving behavior. Specifically, the study seeks to determine the relationship between school-based prevention programs to alcohol use and misuse and high-risk driving; examines problem-behavior theory risk factors in terms of their relation to high-risk driving; and develops recommendations for prevention efforts to reduce high-risk driving, especially connected to alcohol, among teens and young adults. Some keys are: supporting parents' roles, providing substance abuse prevention programs and education and encouraging parents to closely supervise teens' driving. In a separate component, the Transportation Research Institute is testing an interactive computer game administered to teenagers to educate them about some of the issues involved in alcohol use and abuse in general.
Abstract