Understanding Youthful Risk Taking and Driving: Database Report

NHTSA · 1995 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (full text — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This 1995 report, titled *Understanding Youthful Risk Taking and Driving: Database Report*, serves as a comprehensive catalog of national and state databases containing information on adolescent risk-taking behaviors. Sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and produced by COMSIS Corporation and Johns Hopkins University, the document addresses the need for researchers to identify and access data sources that build a biopsychosocial profile of youthful risk. The report aims to facilitate the selection of databases that best address specific research needs regarding the lives of young people in the United States, covering domains such as driving, substance use, sexual activity, violence, and mental health. The report does not present original empirical findings but rather organizes existing data resources into two primary categories: national databases and state-specific databases. The national section details over twenty major datasets, including longitudinal studies like *Monitoring the Future* and the *National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health*, as well as record-based systems like the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) and the General Estimates System (GES). For each database, the report provides specific technical details, including availability, accessibility, data formats, years of collection, major research areas, sampling characteristics, methods of data collection, and key variables. It highlights unique characteristics, such as the longitudinal nature of many government-sponsored studies or the inclusion of convergent data sources (e.g., self-reports combined with parent or peer reports). The state section lists databases from various states, noting that these often provide a more fine-grained examination of risk behaviors than national surveys. Key findings within the catalog include the identification of specific risk-related aspects available in each dataset. For instance, FARS and GES provide detailed crash statistics, including driver drinking, safety belt usage, and injury severity. *Monitoring the Future* offers extensive data on drug use prevalence, attitudes toward substances, and driving behaviors, such as tickets received while under the influence. The *National Archive on Sexuality, Health, and Adolescence (NATASHA)* aggregates 125 major studies to allow cross-tabulation of variables related to sexual activity and HIV/AIDS. The report also notes that many databases are available through archiving services like the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) or Sociometrics Corporation, with varying costs and formats. The significance of this report lies in its utility as a reference tool for researchers and policymakers. By consolidating information on data collection procedures, variables, and access methods, it enables the integration of multiple data sources to analyze the complex context of adolescent risk-taking. The report emphasizes that while individual databases provide only a piece of the puzzle, their combined use allows for a comprehensive understanding of risk and protective factors. It also distinguishes between population-based surveys and record-based surveys, aiding researchers in selecting appropriate data types for their specific analytical goals, whether focusing on behavioral trends, crash outcomes, or educational and labor outcomes.

Key finding

The report provides a comprehensive catalog of existing national and state databases containing data on adolescent risk-taking behaviors and driving, facilitating access for researchers.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• incidence prevalence

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, crash risk outcomes
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource