Motor Vehicle Deaths among Men: Marital Status, Gender and Social Integration

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of marital status on mortality from motor vehicle accidents among men. The framework for the analysis was social integration and control theory. The sample comprised 450,483 men and women from the United States who were followed for a period of nine years. Cox Regression models were fitted to the data. During the follow-up period, 596 persons died from motor vehicle accidents. Divorced and separated persons were over 62 percent more likely to die from motor vehicle accidents than were their married counterparts. Men were nearly 2.6 times as likely to die from motor vehicle crashes as women. Education was a strong predictor of motor vehicle deaths. In general, the lower the level of education, the higher the mortality risk. It was concluded, in support of social integration and control theories, that being divorced is also an important risk factor for motor vehicle accident mortality.

[1]  David W Eby,et al.  Differences in safety belt use by race. , 2004, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[2]  Donald W. Reinfurt,et al.  Race and Seat Belts in North Carolina , 1996 .

[3]  R. Kaplan,et al.  Marital status and longevity in the United States population , 2006, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

[4]  Bryan E. Porter,et al.  Predicting Red-Light Running Behavior: A Traffic Safety Study in Three Urban Settings , 2000 .

[5]  S. Baker,et al.  Alcohol-drinking history and fatal injury in older adults. , 2006, Alcohol.

[6]  P. Sorlie,et al.  Mortality by employment status in the National Longitudinal Mortality Study. , 1990, American journal of epidemiology.

[7]  S. Stack.  New Micro-Level Data on the Impact of Divorce on Suicide, 1959-1980: A Test of Two Theories , 1990 .

[8]  O. Manor,et al.  The protective effect of marriage on mortality in a dynamic society. , 2007, Annals of epidemiology.

[9]  D. Umberson,et al.  Family status and health behaviors: social control as a dimension of social integration. , 1987, Journal of health and social behavior.

[10]  K. Cruickshanks,et al.  Motor Vehicle Accidents and IDDM , 1988, Diabetes Care.

[11]  M. Chiron,et al.  Emotional Stress and Traffic Accidents: The Impact of Separation and Divorce , 2004, Epidemiology.

[12]  M. E. Hughes,et al.  Marital status effects on health: are there differences between never married women and divorced and separated women? , 1997, Social science & medicine.

[13]  P. Sorlie,et al.  Marital status and mortality: the national longitudinal mortality study. , 2000, Annals of epidemiology.

[14]  N. Goldman,et al.  Mortality Differentials by Marital Status: An International Comparison , 1990, Demography.

[15]  S. Stack.  Suicide: a 15-year review of the sociological literature. Part II: modernization and social integration perspectives. , 2000, Suicide & life-threatening behavior.

[16]  R Norton,et al.  Motor vehicle driver injury and marital status: a cohort study with prospective and retrospective driver injuries , 2004, Injury Prevention.

[17]  M. P. Ghiglieri.  The dark side of man : tracing the origins of male violence , 1999 .

[18]  J. House,et al.  Social relationships and health. , 1988, Science.

[19]  R. Wrangham,et al.  Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence , 1997 .

[20]  L. Berkman,et al.  Social networks, host resistance, and mortality: a nine-year follow-up study of Alameda County residents. , 1979, American journal of epidemiology.

[21]  P. Sorlie,et al.  US mortality by economic, demographic, and social characteristics: the National Longitudinal Mortality Study. , 1995, American journal of public health.

[22]  G. Romanes.  Suicide; an Essay on Comparative Moral Statistics , 1881, Nature.

[23]  B. D. Johnson.  Durkheim's one cause of suicide. , 1965, American sociological review.

[24]  David R. Cox,et al.  Regression models and life tables (with discussion , 1972 .

[25]  Y. Cheung.  Accidents, assaults, and marital status. , 1998, Social science & medicine.

[26]  L. Remez.  Children Who Don't Live With Both Parents Face More Behavior Problems , 1992 .

[27]  K. Breault.  Suicide in America: A Test of Durkheim's Theory of Religious and Family Integration, 1933-1980 , 1986, American Journal of Sociology.

[28]  A. Kposowa,et al.  Marital status and suicide in the National Longitudinal Mortality Study , 2000, Journal of epidemiology and community health.

[29]  A. Kposowa,et al.  Motor vehicle crash fatalities: The effects of race and marital status , 1998 .

[30]  T. Songer,et al.  High risk characteristics for motor vehicle crashes in persons with diabetes by age. , 2006, Annual proceedings. Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine.

[31]  A. Kposowa,et al.  Divorce and suicide risk , 2003, Journal of epidemiology and community health.