PERCEPTUAL DETERRENCE AND DRINKING AND DRIVING AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS*

This research examines the effect of perceived legal risks on drinking and driving. Data are from college students who were surveyed three times. Self-reports of recent drinking and driving at Time 3 are regressed on Time 1 and Time 2 measures of perceived risk of punishment. Prior moral evaluations, past drinking and driving, and previous legal intervention for drinking and driving are controlled. Perceptions of risk of arrest and severity of punishment are not related to subsequent drinking and driving, but moral tolerance, prior drinking and driving, and previous legal intervention all predict subsequent drinking and driving.