Objective: The aim of this study was to address the question: What are the major themes in situations and interventions about drinking/driving described by rural youth? Findings from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 1999 administered to 1,323 students in twenty-one public high schools in the rural state where the study was conducted indicated: 21% of students rode one or more times in a car driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol in the past thirty days and 12% drove a car one or more times when they had been drinking alcohol in the past thirty days. According to the National Highway Safety Administration youth alcohol-related fatalities increased in 1999 by 0.9% from the previous year. In the three rural counties represented in this study, there were four alcohol-related fatal crashes in 1999 involving youth 16 to 18 years of age.
Design: A human science qualitative method designed to study intervening from the perspective of the life-world of the young person was used in order to capture the richness and fullness of the voices of rural youth.
Sample: The 53 participants in the study included 28 young men and 25 young women who were 16 to 18 years of age and members of a 4 H group in a rural county.
Method: The participants were seated in a quiet private place where they could think and write and were given a sheet of paper with the following instructions: "Think of a situation where you might be able to intervene in a drinking/driving situation. Begin by describing the situation, the people involved, and then how you might intervene to stop the drinker from driving. Don't worry about grammar or spelling. Just describe each aspect of the situation in as much detail as you can". VanKaam's modification of the phenomenological method structured the data analysis. The descriptions were read carefully in order to elicit the descriptive expressions about the situations and interventions related to drinking/driving. Next the major themes that surfaced from the descriptive expressions were identified. Two individuals skilled in phenomenological analysis carried out an audit of the major themes.
Concept: The major concept that emerged from the data was harm. Harm is conceptualized as neglecting what is in one's best interest by riding with a driver who has been drinking. Harm can lead to bodily experienced pain and suffering and is related to the magnitude and probability of danger in the situation.
Findings: Three common elements surfaced in situations described by the participants. These common elements are: Endangered - in harm's way (31%), Stranded - on the edge of harm (15%), and Entangled - in the range of harm (54%). Endangered situations were ones in which there was a high probability that harm of a high magnitude would occur. Stranded and entangled situations were ones with respectively less probability for harm and for less magnitude of harm than endangered situations. The four common elements that surfaced in the analysis of the interventions related to reducing harm were to: Interfere (34%), Persuade (42%), Threaten (11%), and Plan ahead (13%).
Conclusions: Based on the findings of this study intervening in a drinking/driving situation is rooted in a reciprocal relationship connecting self with other in situations having shared meaning and holding distinguishable qualities of harm which are endangered, stranded, and entangled. To reduce harm with a drunk driver, participants engage ways of intervening that are to: interfere, persuade, threaten, or plan ahead.
Implications: Implications for harm reduction based on the findings of this study are aimed at raising awareness from a youth perspective about harm associated with drinking/driving. Using the findings to structure activities for youth engaged in church or school programs where participants could role-play passenger and drunken driver situations where they would be endangered, stranded and entangled and then intervene by interfering, persuading, threatening or planning ahead in the context of which interventions would be most likely to reduce harm.
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