Drunk Driving: Examining the Effects of Deterrence and Self-Control on Intention to Commit Future DUI

This paper examines the effects of three variables that represent a general model of deterrence (legal sanctions, shame, and embarrassment), and self-control on an individual's intention for an individual to commit a DUI in the future. Building on the work of Grasmic and Bursik (1990) who propose an extended general model of deterrence, and the work of Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) who propose that self-control is of central importance when considering the causes of crime, I combine these factors to develop a more comprehensive model to predict projected drunk driving. I find that shame, embarrassment, and high self-control all work to lessen an individual's intention of committing a DUI in the future. For those with no previous DUI experience, self-control is the sole significant predictor of their future intention. For those who have engaged in DUI behavior, their assessment of t he shame t hey are likely to experience if they are caught has an important impact on intention to commit the offense in the future. This holds regardless of whether the individual was caught for their DUI behavior in the past.