Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether cognitive variables proposed by the protection motivation theory (PMT) were predictive of occasional and frequent intention to drive after drinking in medical students.
Methods: One hundred fifty-five students attending preclinical years at a Medical School in São Paulo, Brazil, participated in the study. They were asked about their last month substance use, history of drinking and driving, including driving after binge drinking, and risk perceptions based on a self-report questionnaire with statements about protection motivation, threat, and coping appraisals from the PMT model.
Results: Fifty-two students (33%) had previous experience of driving after drinking during the last year, and 54 students (35%) reported intention to drive after drinking within the next year. Regression analysis showed that higher scores in perception of personal vulnerability to risks were associated with occasional and frequent intention to continue pursuing this particular behavior. Poorer evaluations about short-term consequences of alcohol consumption and cognitions regarding external rewards were significantly associated with reported intention to continue driving after drinking.
Conclusions: Considering the social and health impact of alcohol-impaired behaviors, our findings suggest the need of interventional efforts focused in increasing students' awareness about the negative consequences of drinking and driving aiming to enhance their motivation towards more adaptive behaviors.