"Out, damn'd 'at'; out, I say!": "preventative" versus "preventive".
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Humans↗
Biomedical subjects
Mark B Johnson
Publications and source records attributed to Mark B Johnson.
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↗
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↗
Portal surveys of time-out drinking locations: a tool for studying binge drinking and AOD use.
Portal surveys, defined as assessments occurring proximal to the entry point to a high-risk locale and immediately on exit, can be used in different settings to measure characteristics and behavior of attendees at an event of interest. This methodology has been developed to assess alcohol and other drug (AOD) use at specific events and has included measuring intentions to use collected at entry and reported use on exit, as well as chemical tests for AOD consumption at both entrance and exit. Recent applications of the portal survey procedure to electronic music dance events that occur in established venues (e.g., bars or nightclubs) are discussed.
Adolescent↗
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↗
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↗
Potential risks of providing drinking drivers with BAC information.
The objective of this paper is to discuss the benefits and risks of providing drinkers with tools that allow them to estimate their blood alcohol concentration (BAC), and to examine the field usability of one commercially available tool. Drinking and driving laws are specified in terms of the driver's BAC, and there is concern that the absence of a method for drivers to accurately estimate their BAC level limits their ability to determine whether they can drive legally. A number of devices that provide a method for the individual to estimate or measure their BAC have been developed. Although some of these devices--such as the "know your limit" (KYL) cards--have been widely distributed, their effectiveness in encouraging good driving decisions have rarely been tested. This article describes a pilot study on the field usability of the Guardian Angel (GA) personal alcohol test in a field setting. The GA test analyzes saliva samples from drinking and indicates under which BAC category they fall (.00 -.04;.04 -.08;.08+). The research examined whether drinkers could, in natural drinking environments, correctly administer and interpret the test results. The methodology involves sampling drinkers on a weekend night on and around the grounds of a large West Coast university as they traveled between off-campus parties, bars, and their dorms. They were asked to assess their own intoxication and impairment, then self-administer and interpret the Guardian Angel test. After interpreting the test, participants were asked to reassess their intoxication and impairment levels, and were given a breath BAC test using a calibrated unit. The results revealed that although the majority of drinkers' were able to administer the GA test, their interpretations did not correspond with actual BACs. The interpretations of the GA test produced false-negatives, underestimating actual BACs. Drinkers perceived themselves to be less intoxicated, on average, after interpreting the GA test results. In conclusion, this research addresses potential pros and cons of providing BAC information to drinkers. It underscores the importance of testing BAC estimation tools under field conditions and the potential risks associated with tests that do not produce accurate results.
Adult↗
Synthesis of crystalline skutterudite superlattices using the modulated elemental reactant method.
A series of samples ((AB)(x)(CD)(y))(z) were prepared containing both short repeat units (AB and CD) and long repeat units ((AB)(x)(CD)(y)), where the short repeat units were designed to have the composition appropriate to form square M(4)Sb(12) skutterudites (M = Fe, Co, or Ir; square = vacancy, La, or Y). X-ray diffraction and reflectivity were used to follow the evolution of the films from amorphous, layered materials to crystalline skutterudite superlattices as a function of annealing temperature and time. In all cases, the short repeat units interdiffused and crystallized the expected skutterudite, while the long repeat period persisted after annealing. The skutterudites crystallize with random crystallographic orientation with respect to the substrate. The observed splitting of the peaks in the high-angle diffraction data from the IrSb(3)/CoSb(3) sample indicates the formation of a novel superlattice structure with each grain having a random crystallographic orientation of the skutterudite lattice with respect to the superlattice direction.
Journal Article↗
Suppression of binary nucleation in amorphous La-Fe-Sb mixtures.
The nucleation energy of a series of La(x)Fe(y)Sb(z) modulated elemental reactants was measured as a function of the Fe/Sb ratio over a large composition range while holding the La content constant. The nucleation energy of the ternary compound La(0.5)Fe(4)Sb(12) with the skutterudite crystal structure was found to depend very strongly on the Fe/Sb ratio in the modulated elemental reactant, with a higher nucleation energy as the Fe/Sb ratio is moved away from the 1:3 stoichiometric value. When the results of this study are compared with those from Fe(y)Sb(z) modulated reactants, the addition of lanthanum was found to suppress the nucleation of FeSb(2), thereby broadening the Fe/Sb composition range in which the ternary skutterudite compound La(x)Fe(4)Sb(12) nucleates. This suppression of nucleation of a binary phase on addition of a ternary component to an amorphous intermediate is in agreement with theoretical arguments. The observed suppression of nucleation also provides rational for the observed nucleation of metastable ternary and higher-order compounds from homogeneous amorphous reactants.
Journal Article↗
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↗
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↗
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↗
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↗
Breath-test surveys at the Mexico border: changes over time in BAC among military personnel.
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Accidents, Traffic↗