By Sasha Tanner
As social beings, humans are influenced by their immediate friends and family—for better or for worse. A recent study led by Namoos and colleagues (2025) shows how a teenager’s peers and parents impact their perspectives and decisions about impaired driving.
Sample & Study Design: The Beginning Stages
The research group employed a cross-sectional study design to a sample population of adolescents aged 14 through 19 years old in Richmond. Since some were minors, parents were required to consent before they could proceed with the study.
In total, there were 1,243 participants, and each one completed a 30-minute survey that inquired about the following information:
- Demographics (age, sex, ethnicity, etc.)
- Driving history
- Driving behaviors
- Alcohol Attitudes Scale
- Drinking and Driving Scale
- Alcohol-Related Driving Risk Assessment Scale
Data was collected and processed through the Impacting Minors Perceptions & Attitudes Concerning Trauma (IMPACT) program, a preventative practice that seeks a reduction in student injury and violence.
What Did They Find?
Based on the survey results, the researchers examined the relationships between teenagers and how they perceive or behave towards drinking and driving.
- Parental drinking levels did not affect the likelihood of a teen getting into a car crash.
- Yet, peer influence on alcohol and impaired driving influenced teens to engage in those behaviors.
- Parental drinking behaviors did not affect a teen’s likelihood of riding with an intoxicated driver.
- Teenagers with negative peer influence were more likely to catch a ride with an impaired driver.
- Peer influence affected how teens viewed impairment—that it causes lowered cognitive and coordination skills.
- A teen’s perception of alcohol affected their chances of driving while intoxicated over a range of distances.
What Next?
- Parental Accountability: Public schools should target parents about how they can be a traffic safety role model to their teens.
- Public Education System Safety Efforts: Schools should implement updated traffic safety programs and messaging about the dangers of impaired driving and healthy driving behaviors, fostering awareness among the student body.
- Strategic Countermeasures: Stakeholders within the DWI field should develop preventive and interventive methods targeted towards parents and teen drivers.
Source: Namoos, A., N. Thomson, S. Bradley, J. Van Harris, & M. Aboutanos. (2025). Alcohol perceptions and driving decisions among adolescents: Exploring the role of peer and parental influences in Virginia. Traffic Injury Prevention, 26(4), 383–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2417343
