Drugged driving among U.S. adolescents, 2016-2019, USA

Abstract

Introduction: Drugged driving, the operation of a vehicle under the influence of any illegal drugs and alcohol, is a growing problem, but remains understudied among adolescents. The purpose of this article is to estimate past-year driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs among a large sample of U.S. adolescents and potential associations (e.g., age, race, metropolitan status, sex).

Design: A cross-sectional secondary data analysis of the 2016-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health among 17,520 adolescents ages 16-17-years old was conducted. Weighted logistic regression models were built to determine potential associations to drugged driving.

Results: An estimated 2.00% of adolescents drove under the influence of alcohol in the past year, 5.65% drove under the influence of marijuana in the past year, and an estimated 0.48% drove under the influence of other drugs other than marijuana in the past year. Differences were based on race, past-year drug use, and county status.

Conclusions: Drugged driving is a growing problem among adolescents and interventions are greatly needed to mitigate these behaviors among youth.

Keywords: Adolescence; Drugged driving; Health behavior.