Preventing alcohol and cannabis-impaired driving among adolescents: Effects of a web-intervention in a driver education program.

Bibliographic Details
Title:	Preventing alcohol and cannabis-impaired driving among adolescents: Effects of a web-intervention in a driver education program.
Authors:	Osilla KC; Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, United States. Electronic address: kosilla@stanford.edu., Nameth K; Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, United States., Rodriguez A; RAND, Boston, MA, United States., Hummer JF; RAND, Santa Monica, California, United States., D'Amico EJ; RAND, Santa Monica, California, United States.
Source:	Journal of substance use and addiction treatment [J Subst Use Addict Treat] 2026 Jul; Vol. 186, pp. 209945. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Mar 17.
Publication Type:	Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial
Language:	English
Journal Info:	Publisher: Elsevier Inc Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9918541186406676 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2949-8759 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 29498759 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Subst Use Addict Treat Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s):	Original Publication: [New York] : Elsevier Inc., [2023]-
MeSH Terms:	Automobile Driving/education , Driving Under the Influence/prevention & control , Alcohol Drinking/prevention & control , Internet-Based Intervention , Adolescent Behavior*, Humans ; Female ; Adolescent ; Male ; Internet
Abstract:	Introduction: Adolescence is a critical period during which teens initiate and escalate substance use, as well as begin learning to drive. Limited research has evaluated programs to prevent impaired driving behaviors in this age group. We tested effects of adding a single-session web intervention to existing driver education curriculum. Methods: Driving school staff recruited participants aged 15.5 to 17 from 12 driver education programs. Participants were randomized to driver education only (usual care, 30 h) or driver education plus a single-session web intervention (webCHAT, ∼30 min). Participants completed surveys at baseline and six months. Results: The sample (N = 198) was 60% female, 80% White, and averaged 15.7 (SD = 0.8) years old. At baseline, 25% and 8% reported past three-month alcohol and cannabis use, respectively, and 19% and 10% reported ever riding with someone under the influence of alcohol or cannabis, respectively. At follow-up, webCHAT participants reported significantly lower perceived peer alcohol (-1.14, 95% CI: -1.915, -0.372, p = 0.004) and cannabis (-1.09, 95% CI: -1.866, -0.306, p = 0.007) use norms compared to usual care participants. Both webCHAT and usual care participants significantly reduced past month alcohol and cannabis use and viewed impaired driving as riskier and less acceptable at follow-up. Conclusion: Driver education programs offer a unique opportunity to prevent substance use and impaired driving when adolescents are motivated to participate to secure their driver's license. These programs should continue updating curricula to reflect the state of science for alcohol and drug prevention. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT04959461. (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Competing Interests:	Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Grant Information:	R34 AA027689 United States AA NIAAA NIH HHS
Contributed Indexing:	Keywords: Adolescents; Alcohol; Brief intervention; Cannabis; Impaired driving; Motivational interviewing; Prevention
Molecular Sequence:	ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04959461
Entry Date(s):	Date Created: 20260318 Date Completed: 20260711 Latest Revision: 20260711
Update Code:	20260711
PubMed Central ID:	PMC13171158
DOI:	10.1016/j.josat.2026.209945
PMID:	41850531
Database:	MEDLINE

Description
ISSN:	2949-8759
DOI:	10.1016/j.josat.2026.209945