# Trajectory Outcomes of Teens that Ride with Impaired Drivers & Drive Impaired

> **NIH NIH R01** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $545,013

## Abstract

7. PROJECT SUMMARY
Riding with an Impaired (RWI) driver and Driving While Impaired (DWI) is prevalent among high school
students. Motor vehicle crashes have remained the leading cause of death among adolescents for decades. In
2015, the U.S. encountered the largest percent increase in motor vehicle crash fatalities in 50 years. This
included a significant increase in alcohol-impaired driving fatalities with 1 alcohol-impaired driving death
occurring every 51 minutes and 1 in every 5 deaths occurring in passengers. Still, alcohol and marijuana
continue as the drugs of choice for American youth and despite a slow secular decline in use during high
school, annual prevalence remains high. Several factors predict future RWI/DWI in high school students, such
as heavy episodic drinking, perceived peer norms of alcohol/substance use, low parental monitoring
knowledge, and exposure to RWI. Recent studies also demonstrate the intimate relationship between
RWI/DWI and household-adult exposure and behavior modeling. Extensive adolescent alcohol/drug use
trajectory-related research has explored emerging adulthood outcomes (e.g. health, employment, college
enrollment). However, despite the well-known relationship between transportation access and these domains,
little is known about these outcomes as a direct result of exposure and engagement in RWI/DWI. Further,
current studies largely do not explain how RWI/DWI exposure and participation develops. Given the complexity
of the processes that may affect RWI/DWI, a social ecological theoretical framework is needed for systematic
and full characterization of the relationships (multi-level influences), and interactions (social environmental) that
shape emerging adulthood outcomes. We propose a highly novel multistage mixed methods study that
employs the Ecodevelopmental Theoretical (ET) framework to characterize adolescent RWI/DWI behaviors
and determine their association with health, employment, and higher education enrollment in emerging
adulthood. First, we will analyze 7 waves of longitudinal adolescent health data (NIH's NEXT Generation
Health Study - following U.S. 10th graders since Spring semester of the 2009-2010 academic year until the
current date) in order to characterize RWI/DWI trajectory classes and their relationship to health, employment,
and higher education enrollment in emerging adulthood. Next, we will use mixed methods to generate ET-
driven hypotheses about how RWI/DWI exposure and participation develops and affects emerging adulthood
outcomes within the context of peer, family, school, and environmental influences. Finally, we will use system
dynamics modeling to build an explanatory model for observed outcome differences according to RWI/DWI
trajectory classes. Our final theory driven explanatory model will advance the understanding of adolescent
RWI/DWI behaviors and inform the subsequent development of an innovative and multi-level intervention
focused on prevention of RWI/DWI and the en...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10237367
- **Project number:** 5R01AA026313-04
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** FEDERICO E VACA
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $545,013
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10237367

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10237367, Trajectory Outcomes of Teens that Ride with Impaired Drivers & Drive Impaired (5R01AA026313-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10237367. Licensed CC0.

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