男性酒駕累犯「酒癮者」的敘事分析

A Narrative Analysis of Drunk Driving Recidivism among Alcoholics

Drunk driving recidivism is frequently described as cruel and unpardonably vicious particularly when the media are keen on interviewing victims at the accident scene and announcing their pathetic situation with emotional and dramatic exaggeration; hence, the public is angry about drunken drivers. Meanwhile, drunk driving recidivism should require prosecutors to carry out a psychiatric examination that defines offenders as“alcoholics”. However, drunk driving recidivism among alcoholics occurs where they subsequently feel wronged by their actual diagnosis with alcohol use disorder. Apparently, under the decontextualization and personal attribution of the judicial and psychiatric systems, the voice of drunk driving recidivism among alcoholics is not heard in the current situation. Accordingly, this research investigates drunk driving recidivism from the point of view of alcoholics, and bases evidence from their life course to enable them to self-actualize their path to alcohol use while viewing their own addiction to alcohol and subsequent treatment via deferred prosecution. The authors anticipate providing suggestions for practitioners in working in this field of drunk driving recidivism among alcoholics.
This research adopts narrative analysis, conducts in-depth interviews with three male drunk driving recidivism cases among alcoholics to collect their life stories of personal drinking, and then analyzes their medical records and referral forms from the office of the district prosecutors. Four key takeaways were discovered：1) the alcohol drinking process of drunk driving recidivism among alcoholics includes the first time drinking, continual drinking, loss of control, the reason for choosing drinking, and control of drinking; 2) in their opinion, in addition to controlling their drinking capacity in risk-taking (for driving a vehicle mainly), the bandwagon (social desirability response set) effect of drinking and driving among drinking companions also produces impact; 3) compared with outpatient treatment, group psychotherapy can better allow them to share and empathize with each other and promote their reduction/quitting drinking; and 4) drunk driving recidivism among alcoholics tends to deny the stigma of alcohol addiction. The majority disagree with deferred prosecution that aims toward helping the addicted quit drinking; additionally, deferred prosecution aims toward avoiding drunk driving.
This research suggests three points：1) drunk driving policies should be adjusted to the individual and the situation, rather than according to consistent punishment; 2) addiction treatment via deferred prosecution should examine the actual requirement of drunk driving recidivism among alcoholics through providing support and companionship through group psychotherapy to increase motivation for addiction recovery and prevent drunk driving recidivism; and finally 3) helping professionals should examine their own attitudes, expectations and perspective of treatment in consideration of the offenders’life experience and social context, thereby conducting comprehensive and appropriate assessment and interventional treatment.