For more
information contact: Boonshoft School of Medicine, Judi
Engle, Office of Public Relations, (937) 775-2951
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 28, 2006
Survey Says…
Teens Tend to Drive or Ride Under the Influence
Dayton, Ohio—For the first time in the sixteen-year
history of the Dayton Area Drug Survey (DADS), 12th grade students
were queried on drug use and motor vehicle behavior. When asked if
they had ridden in a motor vehicle when they believed the driver was
under the influence of alcohol or other non-medical drugs (other than
caffeine or tobacco), 46% said they had. Twenty-eight percent reported
that they had done so more than once or twice. When asked if they had
driven a motor vehicle under the influence, 31% reported they had,
and 18% reported they had done so more than once or twice.
DADS is
a biennial, cross-sectional study that provides estimates of drug,
tobacco, and alcohol abuse along with other issues, among teens in
the Miami Valley area. The survey of area adolescents is a collaborative
effort between area school districts, the Center for Interventions,
Treatment, and Addictions Research (CITAR) at Wright State University
Boonshoft School of Medicine, and United Health Solutions. It has been
conducted since 1990, and area schools are invited to participate on
a no-charge basis. Students voluntarily respond anonymously to a 63-item,
self-report questionnaire.
“The findings on alcohol consumption are particularly
worrisome,” says
Russel Falck, assistant professor of community health and the principal
investigator for the survey. “While it is generally recognized
that tobacco and other non-medical drug use are harmful to health,
alcohol is widely promoted and used in our society. Consequently, attitudes
towards its use are more tolerant than they are towards the use of
other drugs.”
Recent and emerging research on alcohol use and
brain development in adolescents suggests that alcohol, heavy use in
particular, is fraught with long term, adverse consequences. Research
also suggests that young people who get involved with alcohol while
they are young teens have a much higher likelihood of becoming alcoholics
than those who postpone drinking until they are older. 2006 DADS data
show that the vast majority of young people still see drinking alcohol
as acceptable behavior. The multi-faceted approach that has been effective
with tobacco has not been applied to alcohol, particularly in regard
to advertising. Imposing restrictions on alcohol advertising as part
of a comprehensive effort to change teens’ attitudes toward alcohol
as well as their drinking practices should be seriously considered.
When asked to identify the single most common source
of alcoholic beverages for young people, 51% of 12th graders reported
parties without parents present, 21% said adult siblings, 17% said
stores, and 7% said parents.
DADS data on the degree of harmfulness
young people attribute to selected drugs are instructive. For example,
77% of 7th graders see tobacco use as very harmful, while only 47%
see alcohol that way. By grade 12, there is some erosion with tobacco,
with 63% seeing its use as very harmful, while only 25% see alcohol
use as very harmful. This data suggest there may be value providing
substance abuse prevention programming throughout high school. Currently,
statistics show the most intense substance abuse prevention efforts
end by the 8th or 9th grade.
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For more information,
downloadable tables and documentation: http://www.med.wright.edu/citar/dads/ |
