Citation

Vaughn MG, Salas-Wright CP, Piquero AR. Ann. Epidemiol. 2012; 22(12): 825-831.

Affiliation

School of Social Work and Department of Epidemiology, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, MO. Electronic address: mvaughn9@slu.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American College of Epidemiology, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.annepidem.2012.09.010

PMID

23103161

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare persons who report that they never wear a seat belt while driving or as a passenger with those who do in a nationally representative sample in the United States. Our guiding hypothesis is that failure to wear a seat belt is part of an antisocial behavior spectrum. METHODS: Using public-use data from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, this study employed binary logistic regression with adjustments for complex survey sampling to assess relationships between never wearing a seat belt and sociodemographic variables, antisocial behaviors, substance abuse and co-occurring problems, and criminal justice system contact. RESULTS: Individuals who do not wear seat belts are younger, more likely to be male, less likely to be African American or Hispanic, have incomes of less than $75,000, and be a high school or college graduate. After controlling for the effects of age, gender, race, income, education, and population density, individuals reporting that they never wear a seat belt while driving or as a passenger are more likely to report using alcohol and drugs (adjusted odds, 1.61-2.56), committing antisocial behaviors including felony offenses (adjusted odds, 2.13-3.57), and possess a dual diagnosis (adjusted odds, 1.62-1.73). CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that non-seat belt use is convergent with a spectrum of serious antisocial behavior and comorbid psychological distress. Importantly, results suggest that standard seat belt use policies and campaigns may not be effective for non-seat belt using individuals and a targeted approach may be needed.

Language: en