Assessing Alcohol Problems in Female DWI Offenders

This paper presents a study which examined the severity of alcohol problems in a sample of 812 women convicted of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and enrolled in the Drinking Driver Program (DDP) in New York state. The DDP is a voluntary, seven week educational program targeted primarily toward first time DWI offenders. Approximately 50% of eligible offenders elect to attend the program, which provides them with a conditional driver's license. Participants in the study filled out a questionnaire which asked a number of questions drawn from established measures of alcohol and drug use and abuse, psychosocial correlates and markers of substance abuse, and psychosocial functioning. The majority of women who elected to participate in the study were white, Catholic, employed full time, and had at least some college education. Over 40% were married and under the age of 30. Participants ranged in age range from 18 to 77 years.

Results indicated that 32% of women were not identified as having an alcohol-related diagnosis, 43% were diagnosed (according to DSM-3R criteria) as alcohol abusers, and 25% as alcohol dependent. Women diagnosed as alcohol dependent were more likely to have an accompanying drug problem, to be unemployed, have a criminal history, report a family member with alcohol or drug problems, and have a relative who had been arrested for DWI. Women with no diagnosis were more likely to be married and were older.

Drinking patterns (days drinking per week, number of drinks per occasion, binge drinking, preoccupation with alcohol) increased with severity of diagnosis, with those in the no diagnosis group being lowest and those in the dependent group highest. Dependent women were also more likely to use alcohol to alleviate problems.

The authors conclude that not all women arrested for a DWI offense can be described as having an alcohol-related diagnosis. They note that women diagnosed with an alcohol problem often have accompanying psychosocial difficulties which increase in severity as severity of the diagnosis increases. The authors recommend that women DWI offenders be carefully screened across multiple domains to accurately identify alcohol and other problems.

As more and more women drink and drive, there will be an ever-expanding body of knowledge tailored to defending female DUI / DWI defendants. There is no question that women are entitled to equal rights under the law; it is now up to skilled drunk driving defense lawyers to ensure that they receive them.