Provide systematic data on the prevalence of DUI and RWDD in a random sample of
young people. By using a RDD telephone survey procedure, the study will include
adolescents who are commonly excluded from other studies.
Identify correlates of underage DUI and RWDD and model involvement in these behaviors
cross-sectionally using latent variable structural equations modeling. These analyses
will provide initial tests of a conceptual model of DUI and RWDD.
Explore
differences in the extent of involvement in underage DUI and RWDD among young
men and women and among major ethnic groups (African Americans, Asian Americans,
European Americans, and Latinos) and ascertain why differences, if they are found,
occur and how these differences are mediated through more immediate beliefs and
risk behaviors.
Identify
important environmental and social differences between drinking occasions resulting
in DUI or RWDD and drinking occasions not resulting in DUI or RWDD. This information
will have significant implications for environmental approaches to prevention
of these behaviors.
Model changes in DUI and RWDD over time to gain a better understanding of the
social-psychological and environmental factors that underlie the development of
these behaviors, their relative predictive importance, and the extent to which
they directly influence DUI and RWDD or are mediated through more immediate variables.
