Passive and assertive student interventions in public and private drunken driving situations

The types and frequency of interventions used to prevent drunken driving across four different locations is examined. A drinking survey of 247 students provided 97 subjects who indicated that someone had attempted to prevent them from driving under the influence (DUI). Results suggest that the location of the drinking modestly influences the type of intervention, that the more assertive intervention has a higher success rate and that private or more intimate gatherings promote less assertive interventions. Given the failure of deterrence, further understanding of how, why, when and who does and does not intervene, and what, when and who is and is not successful are promising research directions. Most importantly, however, is the need to conceptualize drunken drivers and the reactions to their potential DUI. It is suggested that the social support-stress literature may be useful in that it provides us with a social psychology of both effective and ineffective crises management. Status and age characteristics are the sociological parameters that must be included if we are to clarify and improve our understanding and move toward an informed policy.