The Relationship Between Self-Reported
Drunken Driving, Alcohol Consumption,
and Personality Variables Among
Norwegian Students
Olav Irgens-Jensen1
Norwegian traffic-alcohol legislation, which has remained virtually unchanged since
1936, may be said to be very stringent compared with legal approaches to drunken
driving in other countries. Almost without exception, unconditional penalties — the
least of which is 2 1 days’ imprisonment and one year’s suspension from driving —are
imposed on persons convicted of driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC)
exceeding the statutory limit of 50 mg/100 ml. As the penalties imposed in Norway
for other offences are exceptionally light, drunken drivers represent a comparatively
large proportion of the prison population. More than one-third of the people com­
mitted to prison in 1971 were persons convicted of drunken driving. Despite their
strictness, however, the laws against drunken driving and their uncompromising en­
forcement seem on the whole to be supported by public opinion (5). Also, it has been
shown that, compared to other countries, the incidence of drunken driving in both
accident and non-accident traffic in Norway is very low (1,2).
Nevertheless, a substantial proportion of the adult population of Norway admit
to having driven with an alcohol concentration above the statutory limit (7). In the
present study, for example, 24% of a representative sample of students admitted
having done so (Table I).
Studies undertaken in Scandinavia reveal that a comparatively large proportion
of persons charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, regardless of whether
or not they were involved in accidents, had been convicted of other offences, were
from the lower socio-economic groups, and exhibited symptoms of having an alcohol
problem (3, 6 ). This being the case it might be asked, what about those who admit to
having driven with an alcohol concentration above the statutory limit but have not run
foul of the law? Do many of them also have alcohol problems? Do they exhibit
specific personality traits? And do they, furthermore, tend to have committed other
criminal offences more often than those who have not been guilty of drunken driving?
These are some of the questions our study was designed to answer.
METHOD
The study was based on a questionnaire dealing with drunken driving and personality
variables which was circulated among a representative sample of students at the
1National Institute for Alcohol Research, Oslo, Norway.
159
160
O. Irgens-Jensen
University of Oslo in 1969. This questionnaire, which was answered anonymously, was
completed by 78% of the sample — a relatively high response percentage. Subsequent
checks showed that the students who had completed the questionnaire did not differ
appreciably from the general run of students in regard to such factors as age, sex,
subjects studied, and time spent at the University.
However, in a survey of this kind the question of representativeness is not of
decisive importance as interest centres mainly on the correlations, if any, between
different variables within the sample itself. This sample comprised 1,066 persons.
RESULTS
Drunken Driving and Drinking Habits
A total of 24% of the sample — 251 students altogether —admitted to having driven at
least once with an alcohol concentration in excess of the statutory limit of 50 mg/ 1 0 0
ml and of these 251, only two admitted to having been arrested for drunken driving.
There was a big difference between the percentages for men and women: of the 738
men, 28% admitted to having driven under the influence of alcohol, whereas 13% of
the 328 women admitted to having done so.
Two circumstances obviously contribute to the difference in the figures for men
and women. In the first place, men still drive more than women. For example, in 1972
about 60% of the male population of Norway over the age of 18 held driving licences,
against 30% of the females. In the second place, men have always tended to drink
more alcohol than women, and even among students this rule still seems to apply.
TABLE I
Yearly Alcohol Consumption, Men and Women
Yearly consumption
of pure alcohol
Centilitres
0
1-9 9
100-299
300 - 699
700 +
TOTAL
Base of percentage
Percentage
Men
3
Women
21
4
35
35
19
7
100
100
712
320
21
26
29
Table I illustrates the total annual consumption of pure alcohol by the men and
women in the sample, estimated on the basis of information on drinking frequency
and the average quantities of beer, wine, and spirits drunk in various circumstances.
Very few of the students - 3% of the men and 4% of the women - claimed not to
have drunk any kind of alcoholic beverage during the preceding 12 months. On the
other hand, no less than 21% of the men and 7% of the women said they had drunk as
Drunken Driving among Norwegian Studen ts
161
much as 7 litres or more of pure alcohol during the last year. On the average the men
proved to have drunk almost twice as much pure alcohol a year as the women.2
TABLE II
Self-Reported Drunken Driving and Yearly Alcohol Consumption
Yearly consumption
of pure alcohol
Centilitres
0
1-99
100-299
300 - 699
700 +
TOTAL
Drunken drivers
%
Men
Women
0
5
22
39
49
28
0
4
10
24
48
13
Base of
Percentage
Women
Men
20
150
189
205
148
712
13
112
110
62
23
320
The relationship between the total self-reported consumption of alcohol in a
year and drunken driving is shown in Table II. Among the few in the sample who had
not drunk any kind of alcoholic beverage at all during the preceding year, not one had
ever driven with an alcohol concentration above the statutory limit; of those who had
drunk less than one litre of pure alcohol, 5% of the men and 4% of the women had
done so; among those who had drunk between one and three litres, 2 2 % of the men
and 1 0 % of the women had done so, and among those who had drunk seven litres or
more, almost one-half of the men and women had driven with an alcohol concentra­
tion above the legal limit. The expected relationship between alcohol consumption and
self-reported drunken driving is thus clearly shown.
It is interesting to note that among the few women who had drunk as much as
seven litres or more, the percentage who admitted to drunken driving was as high as
among the men. It seems probable that among women, drinking heavily tends to
reflect a deviation from the norm more than it does in the case of men. It is therefore
more likely to be symptomatic of personality problems in women than in men. As will
be seen, such problems may predispose a person to drunken driving.
The different manifestations of a person’s drinking habits which combine to
form the measure of that person’s total alcohol consumption, display definite correla­
tions with drunken driving, as shown in Table III. For both men and women, however,
there is a greater correlation between drunken driving and drinking frequency than
between drunken driving and the quantities of alcoholic beverages usually drunk at a
time. In the case of men the correlation is greatest in regard to the frequency of beer
drinking, in that of women in regard to the frequency of wine drinking. This simply
reflects the preference of the male student for beer and of the female student for wine.
If we are to attempt to estimate the chances of that person driving a car under the
2On the average, estimates of alcohol consumption based on survey studies do not cover more than
50% of the “true” value of consumption shown in alcohol sales statistics (6). In our study,
however, we are not concerned with the actual quantity of alcohol consumed, but in comparing
groups with different levels of consumption. We assume, however, that the groups that reported
drinking most did in fact have the highest consumption.
162
O. Irgens-Jensen
TABLE III
Correlation Between Self-Reported Drunken Driving
and Drinking Habits
Drinking Habits
Frequency of beer
drinking per year
Frequency of wine
drinking per year
Frequency of spirits
drinking per year
Average quantity of
beer drunk on each
occasion
Average quantity of
wine drunk on each
occasion
Average quantity of
spirits drunk on each
occasion
Total alcohol
consumption per year
Drinking problems
index
Aggressive behaviour
index (when intoxi­
cated)
Self-reported drunken driving
men
women
gamma coef.
N
gamma coef.
N
0.60*
732
0.59*
327
0.50*
719
0 .6 6 *
321
0.48*
721
0.60*
325
0.38*
732
0.41*
327
0.35*
718
0.46*
326
0.40*
720
0.51*
324
0.56*
712
0 .6 8 *
320
0.42*
720
q 3 9 ***
322
0.49*
738
0.42*
328
* P < 0 .0 0 1
*** P < 0 .0 5
influence of alcohol, it would appear to be more important to establish how often a
person drinks than how much he or she usually drinks on each occasion. Naturally,
people who drink frequently, also tend more often to find themselves in situations
entailing the need to drive a car, even if the percentage of alcohol in their blood
exceeds the statutory limit. On the other hand, drinking a relatively large quantity in a
situation in which drinking is the accepted thing to do, will often disuade a person
from driving, at least in a country such as Norway, where the penalties for drunken
driving are so severe.
The questionnaire also contained questions designed to determine whether a
person’s use of alcohol could be indicative of underlying drinking problems. Respon­
dents were asked whether they drank to the point of intoxication when they were
alone, whether they resorted to “a hair of the dog that bit them” the morning after,
Drunken Driving among Norwegian Students
163
whether their drinking had adversely affected their studies, and whether they had
sought advice on or help with their drinking problems. Table III shows that an index
based on these questions also revealed a significant correlation with drunken driving:
for men this correlation was 0.42, for women 0.39. The answers to questions on
aggressive behaviour when intoxicated (for example, how often drinking had led to the
respondent’s wilfully breaking and damaging things, acting more rashly or obstreper­
ously than usual) also revealed a correlation with drunken driving (Table III).
In summary, self-reported drunken driving, which had very rarely led to an
accident or come to the attention of the police, showed not only a definite correlation
with the general consumption of alcohol, but also with signs of potential drinking
problems and tendencies towards aggressive conduct when intoxicated.
Drunken Driving and Personality Variables
A number of studies have shown that problem drinkers, especially male problem
drinkers, have a tendency to drive more recklessly, and to be involved more frequently
in highway accidents than other people. This may, of course, be because such drinkers
are more inclined to drive when under the influence of alcohol, but the connection has
also been taken to indicate that they have personality traits that predispose them not
only to problem drinking, but also to reckless driving — both traits typifying the
daring and aggressive male role (4, 9).
In our study we constructed different measures of personality traits. One such
measure was designed to determine neurotic tendencies and was based on questions
relating to difficulty in concentrating, over-anxiousness, social insecurity, psychoso­
matic symptoms, etc. Another measure, popularly referred to as the “psychopathic”
index, was based on questions similar to those in the Psychopathic Deviant Scale from
the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory. Finally, we included special questions on
suicidal impulses and sexual problems.
TABLE IV
Correlation Between Self-reported Drunken Driving and
Personality Variables
Personality Variables
men
gamma coef.
Neuroticism index
“Psychopathic” index
Suicidal impulses
Sexual problems
0.09
0.37*
-0.14
- 0 .0 2
Drunken Driving
N
738
738
738
738
women
gamma coef.
0.09
0.37***
q 2 9 ***
0.41**
N
320
320
320
320
* p < 0.001
** p < 0 .0 1
*** p < 0 .0 5
Table IV shows that there is no correlation between drunken driving and a
person’s neuroticism index. As neurotic traits have often been found to correlate with
various symptoms of problem drinking, this may come as a surprise. A possible ex­
planation is that a person suffering from neurotic anxiety may feel an overriding need
164
O. Irgem-Jemen
to retain self-control and only dares to take chances to a limited extent. The so-called
“psychopathic” index, on the other hand, revealed a definite relationship with
drunken driving — and the question in this index that showed the highest correlation
with drunken driving was precisely: “Do you like taking chances?”. An overall evalua­
tion of the questions that make up the “psychopathic” index suggests that both the
men and the women in our sample, who had driven under the influence of alcohol,
were more subject than the others to aggressiveness and inability to control their
impulses, and found planning ahead difficult.
In regard to suicidal impulses and sexual problems, Table IV shows that for men
there is no correlation with drunken driving but there is clearly such a correlation for
women. The lack of correlation for men seems to accord with the theory that male
problem drinkers tend to aspire to tough, independent masculinity. Because there is a
correlation for women it seems likely that the personality traits that predispose
women to drunken driving are not the same as those that so predispose men. Some of
the personality variables we have discussed show a certain correlation with the overall
consumption of alcohol; this is particularly true of the “psychopathic” index.
TABLE V
Yearly Alcohol Consumption and “Psychopathic”Index
for Self-Reported Drunken Drivers
Yearly Consumption of
Pure Alcohol
Centilitres
0
1-9 9
100-299
300 - 699
700 +
TOTAL
Drunken Drivers
Men
“Psychopathic” index
Low
High
Base
Base
% of % % of %
0
1
18
34
44
22
11
98
114
104
66
393
0
14
29
45
54
37
9
52
75
101
82
319
Women
“Psychopathic” index
Low
High
Base
Base
% of% % of %
0
3
8
10
63
9
10
60
52
20
8
150
0
4
12
31
40
17
3
52
58
42
15
170
Table V shows, however, that in regard to drunken driving the percentages differ
between a low and a high “psychopathic” index for the various levels of alcohol
consumption in the case of both men and women. In other words, we have found a
connection between personality traits and self-reported drunken driving which cannot
be explained by differences in alcohol consumption alone.
Drunken Driving and Criminality
It was mentioned above that many of the drunken drivers apprehended by the police
had criminal records resulting from other types of offence. Table VI shows that even
self-reported drunken driving — in the case of men and women alike —correlates with
Drunken Driving among Norwegian Students
165
a criminality index based on self-reported criminal offences such as vandalism,
robbery, all kinds of theft, smuggling, illegal hunting and fishing.
TABLE VI
Self-Reported Drunken Driving and Other Self-Reported
Criminal Offences
Criminality Index
0
1
2
3
TOTAL
Drunken Drivers
Men
Women
Base
Base
of%
of%
%
%
9
25
25
45
28
140
191
173
7
14
19
57
13
222
726
168
100
43
14
325
Some of the students in our sample had actually been prosecuted, and a number
convicted, for some of these self-reported offences. Of these, one half admitted to
drunken driving. Altogether, our data show that a definite connection exists between
driving with an alcohol concentration above the statutory limit and a tendency to
commit other offences.
Drunken Driving, Smoking, and the Use o f Other Drugs
It is not only use of alcohol that correlates with self-reported drunken driving; use of
other drugs does so too. As can be seen from Table VII, there is a clear correlation
between smoking and drunken driving for both men and women. There is also a
certain correlation between ever having used cannabis and drunken driving, but this
correlation is not significant, as only a rather small percentage (about 5%) of the
students said that they had ever used cannabis. The correlation between drunken
driving and use of drugs other than alcohol partly reflects, however, the commonly
found tendency towards multiple drug use.
TABLE VII
Use of:
Tobacco
Cannabis
Barbiturates
Tranquillizers
* p < 0.001
** p < 0 .0 1
Correlation Between Self-Reported Drunken Driving,
Smoking, and Use o f Other Drugs
Men
gamma coef.
0.38*
-
0 .2 2
0 .1 1
0 .0 1
Drunken Driving
N
733
736
736
734
Women
gamma coef.
0.55*
0.40
0.42*
0.34**
N
327
327
328
326
166
O. Irgens-Jensen
In the case of women there is also a correlation between drunken driving and the
taking of barbiturates and tranquillizers. The women in our sample tended to take
these legally prescribed drugs far more frequently than did the men. The fact that it is
primarily in the case of women that a correlation exists between drunken driving and
the use of barbiturates and tranquillizers further indicates that a psychological predis­
position towards drunken driving does not manifest itself in the same way in women as
in men.
Drunken Driving and Social Background
Table VIII shows that certain background variables also correlate with drunken driv­
ing. That the measure we employed for social standing and which was based on the
father’s income and education shows such a correlation is not unexpected, since there
is reason to believe that even today there are still more students from the higher social
strata with cars than from the lower.
TABLE VIII
Correlation Between Self-reported Drunken Driving
and Background Variables
Background
Variables
Father’s social
standing
One or both parents
total abstainers
Degree of parents’
religiousness
Men
gamma coef.
Drunken Driving
N
Women
gamma coef.
N
720
0.49*
308
-0.29*
729
-0.37***
326
-0.15
736
-0.49*
326
0.24**
* p < 0 .0 1
** p < 0 .0 0 1
*** p < 0 .0 5
Furthermore, there were relatively few drunken drivers among those who came
from homes in which the parents were total abstainers and/or deeply religious. Tem­
perance and religion are by tradition closely associated in Norway, as most of the
major religious movements in the country are of a highly puritanical nature.
An Overall Evaluation
We have seen that self-reported drunken driving among students shows a correlation
not only with certain drinking variables, but also with other variables. However, to a
greater or lesser extent many of the latter correlate with the drinking variables and are,
in addition, in varying degrees, intercorrelated. A multiple regression analysis (MCA) —
Drunken Driving among Norwegian Students
167
which takes into account the intercorrelations between all the variables dealt with —
showed that of these variables, the total alcohol consumption correlation and drunken
driving, gave the highest correlation. The correlation (eta value) between this variable
alone and drunken driving was almost as great as the multiple correlation for all the
variables together, being 0.36 for men and 0.39 for women, while the total multiple
correlation coefficients were 0.41 and 0.42 for men and women respectively.3
On the other hand, the regression analysis further showed that, taken together,
the variables not directly connected with drinking revealed a definite multiple correla­
tion with drunken driving, with coefficients of 0.33 for men and 0.32 for women. In
other words, it is possible to some extent to determine whether a person is likely to
drive with a BAC in excess of the statutory limit even when no information is available
on that person’s drinking habits or drinking problems.
Of the variables not linked with drinking, the following proved most important
in connection with drunken driving. For men they were Criminal Index, Smoking
Habits and “Psychopathic” Index; for women they were Smoking Habits, Criminal
Index and Use of Barbiturates.
Thus, certain features appear to be common to both men and women as regards
the variables that best correlate with drunken driving, but there are also certain
differences.
The main conclusion to be drawn from the foregoing seems to be that selfreported drunken driving is connected first and foremost with drinking habits, and in
particular with the total consumption of pure alcohol. If the validity of the hypothesis
commonly held by epidemiological researchers in the field is accepted — that the
number of users of alcohol with a relatively high consumption in a population cor­
responds directly to the total use of alcohol in that population —it is probable that the
factors determining the total use of alcohol will also determine the incidence of
drunken driving to a certain extent. Accordingly, to reduce the incidence of drunken
driving, endeavours would have to be made to reduce the total use of alcohol in the
population — assuming, of course, that all other relevant factors, such as the number
of cars, driving time, and legislation were equal.
The data show, however, that the incidence of self-reported drunken driving
appears to be determined not only by alcohol consumption or drinking habits per se,
but that predisposing factors connected with personality also play a part. If alcohol
consumption in a population is relatively low, paradoxical thoug'i it may seem, the
alcohol consumed will probably be consumed to a large extent by those who ought
not to do so, i.e. people who are predisposed to alcohol problems and to drunken
driving. It would appear difficult, however, to reduce the number of persons who are
psychologically disposed to drunken driving unless, at the same time, attempts are
made to change some of the cultural values and ideals that are integral features of
many societies.
3As a multiple regression analysis cannot be undertaken on the basis of gamma coefficients, other
correlation coefficients have been used. These, partly because of the dichotomization of many of
the variables, are on the whole much lower than the corresponding gamma coefficients.
168
O. Irgens-Jensen
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