Technical Report Documentation Page

Age of Drinking Onset and Unintentional Injury Involvement After Drinking

Hingson, R., Sc.D.; Heeren, T., Jamanka, A., M.P.H.; Howland, J., Ph.D.

Social and Behavioral Sciences Department
Boston University School of Public Health
715 Albany Street, T 2W
Boston, Massachusetts 02118

DTNH22-98-D-15079

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Office of Program Development and Evaluation
400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590

Amy Berning was the Contracting Officer's Technical Representatives for this project.

This study assessed whether persons who begin drinking at younger ages are more likely to report unintentional injuries under the influence of alcohol. A national survey conducted for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in 1992, asked 42,862 respondents questions about when they started drinking and unintentional injuries under the influence of alcohol. The current study used data from that survey and found that, respondents who started drinking before age 14, compared to those who started at age 21 or older, were 5 times more likely to have been injured under the influence of alcohol ever in their lives, and 3.2 times more likely in the past year, after controlling for drug use, smoking, family history of alcoholism and other characteristics associated with age of drinking onset. They were 3.0 times more likely to have ever been injured under the influence of alcohol and 2.0 times more likely in the past year, even after further adjusting for personal history of alcohol dependence and frequency of heavy drinking which were also related to early drinking onset.

alcohol, drinking onset, injuries

This report is available from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161 (703) 605-6000. It is also available, free of charge, on the NHTSA web site at: www.nhtsa.dot.gov

Unclassified

Unclassified