Alcohol and aggression: Gender differences in their relationships with impulsiveness, sensation seeking and social problem solving

Abstract

Aims: In this study we investigated the relationships between impulsiveness, sensation seeking, social problem solving, harmful drinking and aggression.Design: Male (n = 39) and female (n = 69) students completed five questionnaires tapping the variables under study. Correlations and regression permitted examination of the relationships among the variables.Findings and conclusions: Impulsiveness was associated with aggression through the mediator of social problem solving in both the men and women. This supports the notion that high levels of impulsiveness may interfere with the acquisition of social problem‐solving skills and deficits in social problem solving increase the risk of aggression. Poor social problem solving was also related to harmful drinking, but in men only. In the present study, no association was found between drinking and aggression either in men or women. It may be that well‐developed social problem‐solving skills reduce the likelihood of aggressive solutions to problems. Further investigation of the possible protective function of good social problem‐solving skills against alcohol‐related aggression is warranted. Sensation seeking was not related to aggression in the present study, nor was there an association between sensation seeking and social problem solving. Sensation seeking correlated with drinking in both males and females, suggesting that alcohol is a sought after experience by sensation‐seekers in this sample.