Women make up a bigger share of arrests for driving under the influence than they did decades ago, but little attention has been paid to how to halt or handle the trend, according to a report released Thursday.
Federal statistics showed that women constituted nearly a quarter of DUI arrests across the United States in recent years. In 1980, the number was just 9.3%, but the percentage has risen almost every year for three decades, according to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Yet most research on drunk driving focuses on men. To better understand the problem, the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, a nonprofit based in Canada, interviewed scores of women who had been arrested for drunk driving.
The Canadian group found some common threads among the female offenders: Almost all said they faced a stressful event such as a breakup or death in the family before their arrest. More than three-quarters said they used at least one prescription medication for anxiety, depression and other disorders. And more than half were single, separated or divorced.
