Drunk driving prevention and cultural influences: the SAFE ROADS 4 YOUTH (SR4Y) project

Abstract

Driving under the influence of alcohol is an important factor in road fatalities all over the world. However, an important significant heterogeneity among countries was found regarding this issue. Why is such a discrepancy found among countries? Several specificities might explain the differences, such as enforcement practices, cultural values, or drinking patterns. The aim of this study was to test whether the social influence (descriptive and injunctive norms) on drunk driving is country-dependent and to explore whether the differences can be attributed to the contextual and/or cultural specificities of the countries. We used data from the SAFE ROADS 4 YOUTH (SR4Y) project, with the objective to implement and evaluate drink driving prevention actions using a common conceptual framework in three developing countries over three continents: Vietnam, South Africa and Argentina. 11300 students aged between 13 and 25 were surveyed. We conducted a regression analysis of social norms on the intention to resist to drunk driving in each country. In all three countries, family injunctive norms were correlated with drunk-driving (DD) intention. The link was strongest in Argentina and weakest in South Africa. In South Africa, friends' injunctive norms had negligible link with DD intention, no link was found with friends' descriptive norms. The link between injunctive norms and DD intention was stronger in Vietnam than in Argentina. Friends' descriptive norms had stronger link with DD in Argentina than in Vietnam. Overall these results suggest differences in social influence on drunk driving intention depending on national cultures.

Keywords

• alcohol
• culture
• young people
• drinking and driving
• risk perception
• norms