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Biomedical subjects

James E Lange

Publications and source records attributed to James E Lange.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

The relationship between alcohol use and cigarette smoking in a sample of undergraduate college students.

During the decade of the 1990s, smoking prevalence increased nearly 30% in the college student population. Although most college students initiate smoking before the age of 18, recent evidence suggests a sizable minority of undergraduates report starting smoking while in college. This study examined the concurrent use of alcohol and tobacco as well as the relationship between alcohol use and smoking initiation among a sample of undergraduate students attending a large public university in the southwestern United States. We defined three categories of smoking status for this study: never smokers (n=777), experimenters (n=158), and smokers (n=178). Both experimenters and smokers reported consuming significantly more drinks per occasion in the past 28 days and more drinks on one occasion in the past 2 weeks compared to never smokers; however, there was no significant difference between experimenters and smokers on either of these measures of consumption. The results of two multinomial logistic regression models showed that measures of alcohol consumption and drinking frequency were significantly associated with being an experimenter or smoker after controlling for demographic and other drug use covariates. Results of a logistic regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between past year drinking frequency and smoking initiation among respondents who reported that they were not smoking at all 12 months prior to their survey participation. The influence of alcohol consumption on smoking initiation among college students is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Drivers within natural drinking groups: an exploration of role selection, motivation, and group influence on driver sobriety.

Young people consume alcohol almost exclusively in social contexts, but natural drinking group dynamics are poorly understood. Our research focuses on the drivers' role within natural drinking groups. We conducted breath-test surveys of existing groups of young people at the US/Mexico border crossing before they headed to Tijuana bars, and surveyed them again upon their return. Results indicated an individual's perception of other group member's drinking plans predicts drinking intentions to a greater degree for passengers than drivers. Additionally, drivers who anticipated heavy drinking among other group members returned to the United States with BACs nearly identical to drivers who reported that other group members would not drink at all. This suggests drivers were resistant to normative pressures to drink. Evidence that group-dynamic variables may impact drinking behavior underscores the importance of systematic exploration of natural drinking groups. Furthermore, the knowledge gleaned from studying the dynamics and decision making processes of natural drinking groups could be used to design intervention designed to increase designated driver use and to reduce drinking among designated drivers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

The sidewalk survey: a field methodology to measure late-night college drinking.

Alcohol use is highly prevalent among U.S. college students, and alcohol-related problems are often considered the most serious public health threat on American college campuses. Although empirical examinations of college drinking have relied primarily on self-report measures, several investigators have implemented field studies to obtain objective measures of alcohol consumption (blood alcohol concentration) from students in ecologically valid settings. This article describes the methodology of breath-test field survey that is being conducted on the grounds of San Diego State University. Descriptive summaries of the data collected through spring 2003 are provided, and limitations to methodology are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

The efficacy of experimental interventions designed to reduce drinking among designated drivers.

OBJECTIVE: Designated drivers are a popular strategy for avoiding drunk driving. However, studies have demonstrated that the strategy is often implemented poorly, resulting in diminished risk-reduction effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of six interventions designed to reduce alcohol consumption among designated drivers. METHOD: A total of 376 groups consisting of 1,412 pedestrians (57.8% men) were recruited as they crossed into Tijuana, Mexico, from San Diego, CA. Before crossing into Mexico, each group was assigned at random to one of six experimental conditions or to one control condition. The six interventions were designed to (1) cue the use of designated drivers, (2) change attitudes about designated drivers, (3) provide monetary rewards for driver sobriety, and (4) increase group supportive norms for proper designated driver use. Participant breath alcohol concentrations (BrACs) were collected before entering Mexico and on return to the United States. RESULTS: Using group members to deliver pro-designated driver messages significantly decreased driver and passenger BrACs relative to controls. Male drivers were more likely to return from Mexico with BrACs of zero if they were rewarded. Among female drivers, wearing a bracelet with the printed words "designated driver" in addition to cuing resulted in 9 of 10 drivers returning with BrACs equal to zero. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that designated driver sobriety can be enhanced through brief interventions, and proper use of the designated driver concept did not increase the risk of excessive alcohol consumption for passengers.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2006

Environmental and individual predictors of error in field estimates of blood alcohol concentration: a multilevel analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Using self-report survey data and measures of breath alcohol concentration (BrAC), this study examined the validity of an estimate of blood alcohol concentration (eBAC). Differences between eBAC and BrAC were modeled to identify sources of error related to survey-derived eBAC. Further, using hierarchical multilevel analyses, environmental event characteristics were examined as sources of eBAC error. METHOD: College students were interviewed and provided breath samples at randomly selected parties on Friday and Saturday nights. Interviews included items assessing the total number of drinks consumed, duration of drinking event, gender, and weight, which allowed for the calculation of eBAC. RESULTS: Overall, eBACs were inaccurate. Total number of drinks consumed was associated with underestimates of eBAC, whereas time drinking was associated with overestimates of eBAC. Environmental variables, including party size, rowdy behavior, having food present, and observing many intoxicated partygoers, were also associated with eBAC errors. CONCLUSIONS: Current self-report survey methodology to calculate eBAC may be insufficient to estimate BAC with any accuracy. Environmental factors associated with the last drinking event for which BAC is being estimated should be considered when calculating eBAC.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Reducing DUI among US college students: results of an environmental prevention trial.

AIMS: Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol is among the most common and serious alcohol-related problems experienced by US college students. Community-based prevention trials using environmental approaches to DUI prevention have been effective in reducing DUI. Such interventions remain untested in college settings. This study is the first to test the efficacy of an environmental prevention campaign to reduce DUI among college students. DESIGN: We used a quasi-experimental non-equivalent comparison group design to test the efficacy of the DUI prevention intervention. Students at the experimental university were exposed to a DUI prevention intervention that included a social marketing campaign, a media advocacy campaign and increased law enforcement (DUI checkpoints and roving DUI patrols). SETTING: Students from two large public universities located along the US/Mexico border participated in the seven-semester study. PARTICIPANTS: In total, 4832 college students took part. MEASURES: Using telephone interviews of randomly selected students, we took pre- and postintervention measures of self-reported DUI. FINDINGS: Self-reported DUI (past year) decreased significantly from pre-test to post-test (odds ratio = 0.55) at the intervention school, whereas rates at the comparison campus remained stable. The campus-intervention interaction was statistically significant (P < 0.05), suggesting that the campaign led to the observed change in DUI. CONCLUSIONS: Environmental DUI campaigns similar to those validated in community prevention trials can be effective in college settings. Further research, however, is needed to determine the robustness of the changes associated with such campaigns.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Tijuana alcohol control policies: a response to cross-border high-risk drinking by young Americans.

Several thousand young Americans visit the bars in Tijuana, Mexico, each weekend night, raising concerns on both sides of the border. Measures implemented in San Diego, California, and Tijuana have successfully reduced the number of American visitors to Mexican bars. Although San Diego policies have been well-documented, this is the first article on investigation of measures enacted south of the border. Information on Tijuana alcohol policies was obtained from a survey of 29-36 bars from 1997 to 1999. The Tijuana police provided data on Americans arrested in Tijuana from 1998 to 1999. Our study found alcohol regulations are poorly enforced in Tijuana, suggesting that regulatory agencies are captured by bar owners. However, such a capture may be weakening. The importance of identifying and supporting Mexican interest groups, as opposed to the bar owners, as a mechanism to impede the capture of Tijuana's regulatory agencies is discussed. The number of Americans involved in alcohol-related crimes in Tijuana sharply decreased over time. However, such a success is largely related to the success of the San Diego efforts in reducing the number of American visitors to Tijuana. Also, by demonstrating the racial/ethnic heterogeneity of American visitors to Tijuana bars, our study points out the need for prevention policies designed north of the border to take such heterogeneity into account.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2004

Living dangerously: driver distraction at high speed.

Recent research indicates that cell phone use can distract drivers from safe vehicle operation. However, estimates of the prevalence of cell phone use while driving have been limited to daytime hours and low-speed roadways. This paper describes the results of a study to estimate rates of cell phone use and other distractions by examining approximately 40,000 high-quality digital photographs of vehicles and drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike. The photographs, which originally were collected as part of a separate study, were taken both during the day and during the night and at different locations across the span of the Turnpike. A radar gun linked to the camera recorded the speeds of vehicles as they passed. This provided us with the speeds of every vehicle photographed, and allowed us to determine population counts of vehicles. A panel of three trained coders examined each photograph and recorded the presence of cell phone use by the drivers or any other distracting behavior. Demographic information on the driver was obtained during previous examinations of the photographs for an unrelated study. A rating was considered reliable when two out of the three coders agreed. Population estimates (and confidence intervals) of cell phone use and other distractions were estimated by weighting the cases by the inverse probability of vehicle selection. Logistic regression was used to predict cell phone use from demographic and situational factors. The results indicated that the most frequent distraction was cell phone use: 1.5% of the drivers on the Turnpike were using cell phones compared to the 3 to 4% use rates reported in the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) surveys conducted during the daytime on lower speed roadways. The Turnpike survey indicated that cell phones were used less on weekends and at night, and when the driver was exceeding the speed limit or had a passenger in the car.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Correlation between modes of drinking and modes of driving as reported by students at two American universities.

This paper examines the correlates and predictors of driving under the influence behaviors (DUIBs) during the past month by college students. Measures of heavy episodic drinking, monthly drinking frequency, monthly drinking variance, monthly drinks per occasion and reported marijuana use are compared as predictors net of other predictive factors. A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted with college students by a university social science research laboratory. Respondents attended two large public universities located in the southwestern part of the US. Participants included 803 randomly selected college students. The interview schedule included items from the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey and the College Alcohol Risk Assessment Guide. Several additional last-drinking-event items were also developed for the interview. Bivariate analyses indicate that marijuana use (past year), heavy episodic drinking, reports of DUIBs (driving under the influence or riding with a driver who is under the influence) in the past year, monthly frequency of drinking, the average number of drinks consumed when drinking and age are correlates of DUIBs during the past month. Multivariate analyses indicate past year DUIBs, monthly frequency of drinking and monthly marijuana use predicted recent DUIB.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2003

A failed norms social marketing campaign.

OBJECTIVE: In this article we test the efficacy of an intensive norms social marketing campaign to reduce heavy drinking among college students living in a residence hall. METHOD: We employed a pretest-posttest nonequivalent comparison group design. The study was conducted in two (experimental and comparison) comparable residence halls located in a large urban public university. We attempted a census at each hall, and pre- and postintervention data were collected in public areas of each residence hall. Relative sample sizes were approximately 60% in the experimental hall (both waves) and 38% in the comparison hall. RESULTS: The campaign successfully corrected students' misperceptions of drinking norms but had no effects, or counterintuitive effects, on drinking behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the popularity of this approach, universities would be prudent to proceed with care before adopting this approach wholesale.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2002

Sobriety tests for low blood alcohol concentrations.

The legal limits of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for operators of commercial vehicles throughout the United States, and underage drivers in most states, are approximately half the 0.08-0.10% imposed on other drivers. Easily administered measures involving performance and appearance are needed to establish probable cause for requesting breath tests. Several measures showing relationships to blood alcohol were examined for their ability to distinguish BACs under and over 0.04% within the 0.00-0.08% range. Measures of heat loss. pupillary response, balance, complex tasks, and accuracy under speed were studied in controlled experiments with alcohol-dosed subjects. The only reliable index of blood alcohol was horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) as administered in the standardized field sobriety test (SFST), using alternative scoring criteria. Although other measures evidenced intra-individual change at low BACs, the magnitude of change was greatly exceeded by inter-individual differences, thwarting their use in detecting drivers with BACs lower than 0.08%. HGN, however, proved as valid in detecting BACs in the 0.04-0.08% range as at the higher levels of the SFST. It is also as valid when administered to a seated subject as one standing, making it of particular benefit in enforcement, where the behavior of low BAC drivers rarely provides probable cause to request that they leave a vehicle to be tested in a standing position.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2002

Alcohol's effect on aggression identification: a two-channel theory.

Identification of ambiguous behaviors may be affected by alcohol first by the activation of associated mental representations and second by an increase in the imbiber's motivation of need for closure (NFC; A. Kruglanski, 1989), because cognitive effort is increased for epistemic activities. Combined, these effects should increase correspondence between mental representations of alcohol and the identification of others' behaviors. Three studies were conducted to test this hypothesis. The results were consistent with this hypothesis: Participants who associated alcohol with amiable concepts perceived less aggressive intent when blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) were high versus low. Alternatively, those who associated alcohol with aggressive concepts perceived the same or more aggressive intent when BACs were high versus low. Priming alcohol concepts and trait-level NFC were also sufficient to replicate these effects.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

South of the border: a legal haven for underage drinking.

AIMS: The research describes the characteristics and motivations of youthful San Diego County residents who patronize the bars and nightclubs in Tijuana, Mexico. DESIGN: Two random-digit-dial surveys of San Diego County residents-one group aged 18-20 years and one aged 21-30 years-was conducted during a 2-year period. Those who reported having visited the bars in Tijuana in the last year were compared with those who had not. SETTING: All respondents were residents of San Diego County, California, USA. PARTICIPANTS: The study comprised 2200 youths between 18 and 30 years of age. MEASUREMENTS: The interview protocol included questions covering demographic characteristics, drinking and drug-use history, experience with Tijuana bars, and ratings of bar features in San Diego and Tijuana. FINDINGS: About half of the 18-20-year-olds and a third of the 21-30-year-olds reported visiting bars in Tijuana at least once in the past 12 months. Race, age, gender, heavy drinking and drug-use history were significantly associated with visits to Tijuana bars. The price of alcohol and the perceived freedom to get drunk in Tijuana bars were considered attractive features leading to cross-border drinking. CONCLUSIONS: The features of the alcohol service in Mexican bars that attract youthful drinkers (low cost and liberal availability of alcohol, lack of formal controls, and presence of heavy drinkers) are similar to those present in other drinking locales that lead to drunkenness. Thus, a better understanding of the characteristics and motivations of the US youths patronizing bars in Tijuana can lead to improved interventions to reduce heavy, risky drinking.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Operation safe crossing: using science within a community intervention.

AIMS: To evaluate a large drunk-driving enforcement program at the US/Mexican border to reduce the number of youths crossing the border to drink in Tijuana. This paper also describes the research data used to develop and manage the program. Data from a border breath-test survey were used to dramatize the problem and gain public support for action. The data were also used to help design the enforcement effort and measure progress in reducing the cross-border drinking problem. DESIGN: The number of news events generated around the occurrence of special enforcement efforts were used to measure project activity and to predict changes in the numbers of youths crossing into Mexico, their returning BACs and reductions in alcohol-related crashes during a 3-year period. SETTING: An urban county on the Mexican border. PARTICIPANTS: Underage youths aged 18-20 years and young adults aged 21-30 years residing in San Diego County. MEASUREMENTS: Immigration and Naturalization Services provided population counts of the number of individuals crossing each weekend night from Tijuana into the United States through the San Ysidro border facility. Breath-test surveys of a random sample of these returning crossers provided data on the number of US residents visiting bars and nightclubs in Tijuana and on alcohol consumption at Tijuana bars and nightclubs. Night-time had-been-drinking crash data involving young drivers in several California counties served as an outcome measure of public health and safety. FINDINGS: Analysis of data involving more than 2 million pedestrians returning from Tijuana indicated that the Operation Safe Crossing program reduced the number of late-night crossers by 31.6%. CONCLUSIONS: Effective use of data through media advocacy programs to support an enforcement effort can reduce alcohol-related crashes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Reducing high-risk drinking by young Americans south of the border: the impact of a partial ban on sales of alcohol.

OBJECTIVE: Determine the effect of a partial sales ban on cross border drinking in Mexico. METHOD: On weekend evenings, thousands of youths (younger than 21 years) and young adults (21 to 25 years) residing in communities along the U.S. border cross over into Mexico to patronize all-night bars where the drinking age is 18 rather than 21 years and where the price of alcohol is considerably less than in the United States. On January 1, 1999, Juárez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas, implemented a 2 AM bar closing policy replacing the previous 5 AM closing time. Breath alcohol tests of pedestrians at the Juárez/El Paso border before and after the policy change were compared with a similar sample of pedestrians at the Tijuana, Mexico/San Diego, California border. RESULTS: At the Juárez/El Paso border, the total number of youths with positive BACs returning from Juárez after 3 AM when the bars were closed was reduced 89%, whereas the number returning between midnight and 3 AM remained unchanged. There was no change in either period at the Tijuana/San Diego comparison site. CONCLUSIONS: Early closing of the bars in Juárez reduced the number of youths returning after 3 AM to the United States with positive BACs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

College binge drinking: what is it? Who does it?

This article presents research included in the symposium at the 2001 Research Society on Alcoholism meeting in Montreal, Canada. James Lange was the organizer and provided the introduction of this article. Gayle Boyd was the chairperson, and Mary Larimer was the discussant. The presentations were (1) Defining binge-drinking quantities through resulting BACs, by James E. Lange and Robert B. Voas; (2) Environmental predictors of heavy episodic drinking events, by John D. Clapp; (3) Parents' continuing role in college binge drinking, by Rob Turrisi, Racheal Taki, and James Jaccard; and (4) Motivations of binge drinkers, by Mark B. Johnson, Robert B. Voas, and James E. Lange. The summary and discussion were provided by Mary Larimer.

Alcohol Drinking↗