| Limited attention has been directed toward reducing passengers riding with drinking drivers (RWDD). Passengers make up 15 percent of all alcohol-related vehicle fatalities, indicating a significant gap in prevention research. This gap may be due to the paucity of research examining determinants of RWDD. This dissertation is composed of three empirical papers that examined different predictors of RWDD. Paper 1 used a dual process behavioral decision-making approach to examine RWDD. Paper 1 results suggest that examining decision-making processes related to both RWDD and viable safe alternatives of RWDD may predict RWDD more comprehensively. Further, all psychosocial variables related to RWDD and alternatives were found to be significantly correlated with all decision-making constructs, indicating they all may be useful targets for change in intervention efforts, especially those with the highest correlations: attitudes, peer injunctive norms, image prototypes, and self-efficacy to use alternatives. Results from Paper 2 support the hypotheses that parent-student communication of RWDD risks are associated with both decreased risky orientations and increased protective orientations. This supports that Parent Based Interventions (PBIs) may be useful for reducing RWDD behavior. However, parentstudent communication must occur in a manner that students remember and are responsive. Results from Paper 2 also suggest that parents may be most likely to communicate about the risks of RWDD if they think their spouse and other parents like them have similar conversations with their student. PBIs may be most effective if delivered to both parents or in groups of parents. Paper 3 examined the association between substance use and riding with an alcohol and/or drug impaired driver (RADID) using an event-level design. Results for Paper 3 indicate that probability of RADID increases for students who, on average, engage in polysubstance use. Probability of RADID also increased as the number of substances used in one occasion increased. Further, students with average substance use, were more likely to RADID on nights when 3 or more substances were used. Lastly, results from Paper 3 suggest that using marijuana alone or using alcohol combined with other substances (e.g., tobacco, ADHD medications) increases the likelihood of RADID compared to alcohol use alone. Future work should test efficacy of PBIs, ecological momentary interventions, and efforts combining different intervention delivery methods to reduce RWDD and RADID. |
