Driving While Impaired and Riding with an Impaired Driver among Recent Latinx Immigrants

Abstract

The overarching aim of this study is to assess driving while impaired by alcohol (DWI) and riding with an impaired driver (RWID) rates among young adult Latinx immigrants to Miami-Dade County, Florida, within a year of arrival in the U.S.A. More specifically, this study aims to: (i) describe the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Latinx immigrants to Miami-Dade County within a year of arrival; (ii) examine their alcohol use, DWI, and RWID; and (iii) identify factors influencing these behaviors. This study uses baseline data from an ongoing National Institutes of Health-funded longitudinal study examining drinking and driving trajectories among young adult recent Latinx immigrants to Miami-Dade County. During the baseline assessment, retrospective pre-immigration data and post-immigration data were obtained via personal interviews. Inclusion criteria included being a Latinx immigrant, 18–34 years old, who recently immigrated (within one year before baseline assessment) to the U.S.A. from a Latin American country with the intention of staying in the U.S.A. for at least three years beyond baseline. Respondent-driven sampling was applied. Results showed that since arriving in the U.S.A. approximately 6.3% of all participants had engaged in DWI at least once and 20% reported RWID. Although household income and being male were significant factors, the factor that influenced post-immigration DWI/RWID the most was pre-immigration DWI (odds ratio = 13.1) and pre-immigration RWID (odd ratio = 24.5). Interventions aimed to prevent recent immigrants from engaging in DWI and RWID should take cultural factors and pre-immigration behaviors into account.