Age, machismo, and the drinking locations of drunken drivers: A research note

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcoholic beverages continues to be one of our nation's most serious social problems despite massive efforts to identify effective countermeasures. The high alcohol‐related motor‐vehicle‐crash death rate among the young is particularly alarming. This paper examines the frequency with which convicted DUI offenders drink in seven different types of drinking places, compares the drinking locations of younger and older offenders, and speculates that machismo or the desire among young males to demonstrate their masculinity has a major impact on both drinking locations and motor‐vehicle‐crash death rates. The analysis finds that the younger offenders tend to drink in a variety of away‐from‐home locations; but after age 25 the frequency of drinking in all types of places except one's own home decreases, and the home emerges as the most important drinking location for the older offenders. The findings suggest that automobiles and parking lots may be drinking settings which are particularly conducive to the macho drinking behaviors of young males.

This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit: