ABSTRACT
This chapter describes four subtypes of white male Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offenders: First-time DUI Offenders, DUI Recidivists, DUI and Traffic Offenders, and Mixed Multiple Offenders from a pool of 2,786 Georgia DUI offenders who had attended 65 state-certified DUI schools throughout the state during a three-year period. Some recognized scholars argue against the generalized treatment approach and recommend a search for those principles, processes and factors that produce relevant and effective mixes for specific offender types-usually based on risk level as well as personality-based classifications, and cognitive levels. However, the DUI offender typology delineated in this study, based on generality of deviance and a subcultural-interaction perspective, demonstrates an empirically derived meaningful differentiation within the DUI category. Future empirical research on drunk drivers should be guided by explicit theoretical frames of reference. Researchers must be aware that they are dealing with a problematic group of offenders whose drinking behavior is only one facet of a thrill-seeking, deviant life-style.
