Citation

Duncan D, Vogel Sprott M. Blutalkohol 1978; 15(4): 252-260.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1978, International Committee on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety and Bund gegen Alkohol und Drogen im Straßenverkehr, Publisher Steintor Verlag)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Fifty-eight males ranging in age from 18-68 who were convicted of impaired driving completed a drinking habit questionnaire which permitted the calculation of an individual's alcohol dose (ml absolute alcohol per kg) on a typical drinking occasion, his dose on the day of his arrest and his customary drinking frequency (number of occasions per week). The questionnaire items on typical dose and frequency were identical to ones previously administered to a group of social drinkers (n=130). The study thus served to extend information of typical dose and frequency of drinking to a sample of impaired drivers, and also permitted some comparisons between social drinker and impaired driver groups. The arrest dose and the typical dose scores of impaired drivers each bore a significant linear relation to age, with the younger drivers administering larger doses. This linear relation between dose and age was similar to that previously observed for social drinkers. The typical dose scores of the impaired drivers however were significantly higher than the typical doses of social drinkers, irrespective of age. Drinking frequency scores also were significantly higher in the impaired driver group, but the curvilinear relation between age and frequency which had been obtained for social drinkers was not evident among impaired drivers. The evidence on impaired drivers' drinking habits is in line with the notion that problem drinking is associated with impaired driving offenses, and was considered to suggest that age norms on typical alcohol dose may be a promising device for identifying 'deviant' (problem pre-alcoholic) drinkers.