DWI Offenders Research Articles

A comparison of the social context for alcohol consumption of college students and convicted DWI offenders

A sample of college students and convicted DWI offenders were surveyed with an anonymous questionnaire in order to determine which social context of alcohol consumption factors discriminated between the offenders and college students. The results revealed that DWI offenders tend to drink in their own home, alone, and to relieve stress; whereas college students are more likely to drink at a party, for the enjoyment of taste, and to get drunk. There were no major differences among various subgroups of college student alcohol abusers. Six measures of alcohol consumption and abuse were taken for the DWI offenders in an attempt to relate them to various social contexts for drinking. These measures revealed that drinking to relieve stress, aches and pains, and to get drunk were common contexts within which alcohol consumption and abuse took place for these offenders. The results are discussed in terms of alcohol abuse at younger age levels (18-20) being probably a form of episodic and recreational activity, while alcohol abuse in older ages (e.g, DWI offenders) is more likely a chronic problem. (Author/TRRL)

Correlates of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) among DWI offenders.

Examined the relationship between scores on the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), Psychological Screening Inventory (PSI) and Locus of Control Scale (LOC) in a selected sample of 156 apprehended drunken drivers. About 90% were identified as problem drinkers on the MAST, and 15% were screened by the PSI as requiring more intensive psychological assessment. Scores on the MAST were independent of LOC, but positively related to results on PSI scales that assess antisocial acting-out and neurotic anxiety and also to general maladjustment (mean scale elevation). A weighted composite of three PSI scales was related significantly to MAST scores, but explained only a modest proportion of variance in them. The MAST and PSI can be used to supplement one another in screening DWI offenders.

The decision to recommend alcoholism treatment for DWI offenders.

The decision to recommend alcoholism treatment for convicted drinking drivers is examined for a treatment program in Western New York. A total of 2,061 client files were abstracted for these analyses. The Mortimer-Filkins score and the blood alcohol concentration at the time of arrest were the two best discriminating variables in the decision to recommend treatment in these analyses. When these scores were high, additional information was not needed. However, when these scores were in the low or midranges, other variables became crucial to the decision-making process. Further investigation of variables not available in these analyses is needed to determine the decision-making process for clients with low or midrange Mortimer-Filkins and BAC scores.

The relation of age to personality adjustment among DWI offenders.

Involved the assessment of perceived adjustment among individuals (N = 75) court assigned to DWI classes. Individuals 25 years and younger when compared to those 26 and older reported significantly higher levels of perceived maladjustment and emotional upset. Sex was related to interpersonal behavior; females reported significantly higher levels of introversive tendencies. A discussion of how age and sex relate to treatment and rehabilitation needs follows.

Sociodemographic Correlates of Problem Drinking among DWI Offenders

Of 24 background variables examined, 3 differentiated reliably, and 8 others marginally, between test-defined problem and nonproblem drinkers in a selected sample of apprehended DWI offenders.

Alcoholism and the Courts: Experience With a Traffic Safety Project

The authors describe a federally funded Alcohol Safety Action Project in Texas that attempted to change the drinking behavior of individuals arrested for driving while intoxicated. The project was one of more than 35 around the nation designed to deal with the problem of the drinking driver; unlike many others, its primary emphasis was on rehabilitation. The project functioned as a self-supported ancillary agency to the probation department; however, because of problems in coordination with the legal system, it had access to only about a fourth of the DWI offenders. Despite that drawback, and the inability to prove the value of the projects by the federal evaluation criteria initially set, the authors believe that the experience in Texas has demonstrated the advantages of combining the efforts of the judicial and the health-care systems to deal with alcohol abuse.

An Empirical Description of Administration of Justice in Drunk Driving Cases

This paper is about the administration of justice in drunk driving cases. It is the second in a series (Little, 1971a) stemming from an intensive study of law enforcement and judicial systems in operation. The data reported here were obtained in 1970 and 1971 in a study carried out in the State of Vermont with the purpose of learning about how justice is administered in DWI cases in the context of a known legal framework. The method of the study was to obtain representative samples of DWI offenders and violators of other serious motor vehicle offenses, and trace what happened to them with the police, in the courts and with licensing agencies. The complete chronicle of what happened to each offender was carefully scrutinized, beginning with the time of arrest and ending when the case had been disposed of. The earlier paper contained a number of preliminary descriptive statistics, and this one follows up that background with more detailed analysis.