Alcohol-impaired driving: average quantity consumed and frequency of drinking do matter.

Objective: The objective of this article is to estimate and validate a logistic model of alcohol-impaired driving using previously ignored alcohol consumption behaviors, other risky behaviors, and demographic characteristics as independent variables.

Methods: The determinants of impaired driving are estimated using the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys. Variables used in a logistic model to explain alcohol-impaired driving are not only standard sociodemographic variables and bingeing but also frequency of drinking and average quantity consumed, as well as other risky behaviors.

Solving problems of disclosure risk while retaining key analytic uses of publicly released microdata.

MEASURES USED TO PROTECT SUBJECTS in publicly distributed microdata files often have a significant negative impact on key analytic uses of the data. For example, it may be important to analyze subpopulations within a data file such as racial minorities, yet these subjects may present the greatest disclosure risk because their records tend to stand out or be unique. Files or records that are linkable create another type of disclosure risk-common elements between two files can be used to link files with sensitive data to externally available files that disclose identity.

Can the punishment fit the crime when suspects confess child sexual abuse?

Objective: To determine significant predictors of severity of sentencing of sex offenders of minors in a jurisdiction which obtains many confessions.

Method: Data were abstracted from 323 criminal court case records of sexually abused minors over 11 years in a county which places a high priority on sexual abuse prosecution. The sample used in this analysis consisted of 218 men who received a sentence for a sex offense.