Circumstances when drinking leads to aggression: an overview of research findings

Abstract

Studies of alcohol-related aggression have been framed both in the context of alcohol-related behavior and as a subtype of aggressive behavior. Theoretical discussions of alcoholrelated aggression tend to bridge these two very large conceptual frameworks, incorporating findings from a broad array of studies within each. The present paper, however, is concerned only with empirical studies that focus specifically on alcohol-related aggressive behavior among humans. This focus excludes the following: alcohol studies that might be relevant to the topic (e.g., effects of alcohol on cognitive functioning, moral reasoning, and cue perception) but that do not measure aggression directly; studies of aggression that do not include at least some aspect of alcohol use; and studies of alcohol-related aggression using animal rather than human subjects. Background: The role of alcohol in aggressive incidents and violent crimes Pernanen (1991) studied aggressive incidents in the community using both police records and interview data. He found that alcohol involvement in aggressive incidents was highest in public drinking establishments, hotels and other people's homes, when assailants and victims were male (also found by Virkkunen, 1974), in incidents involving more than two people, and when physical violence occurred between strangers. Pernanen's data and other survey data (Kantor & Straus, 1987) suggest that alcohol is less frequently a factor in husband-to-wife violence than in some other types of violence. In addition, more severe forms of aggression such as punching, hitting with a fist and kicking were more common in incidents involving alcohol. Hunt and Joe (1995) studied the role of alcohol in gang violence and concluded that intoxication had a functional role in gang violence, with alcohol often consumed in anticipation of an altercation. Studies examining the role of alcohol in violent crimes have found that drinking/heavy drinking immediately preceding the crime was more likely for violent crimes compared with nonviolent crimes (Collins & Schlenger, 1988; Myers, 1986; Welte & Miller, 1987; Wiley & Weisner, 1995). Violent crimes involving alcohol were less likely to be premeditated (Myers, 1986; Virkkunen, 1974), more likely to involve drinking by both the victim and the assailant (Lindqvist, 1991; Mayfield, 1976), and more likely to be preceded by an escalation of aggression, often initiated by the victim (Lindqvist, 1991; Virkkunen, 1974). A study of the worst date involving sexual assault compared with the most recent date found that heavy drinking was more common on dates where sexual assault occurred (Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987). This brief review of incident data suggests that alcoholrelated aggression is affected by situational contingencies. It also supports the hypothesis that certain individuals are prone both to heavy drinking and to aggression. However, the findings also suggest that alcohol-related aggression typically involves a process of social interaction that is likely affected by the intoxication of both assailant and victim-that is, that alcohol as a drug also plays a role. In addition to the actual effects of alcohol, expectations about the effects of alcohol may be an important aspect of predicting when drinking will lead to aggression. As pointed out by Pernanen (1991), stereotypes of drunken brawls are likely to be bidirectional, with behavior in certain settings contributing to the stereotype but also stereotypes contributing to the behavior. Moreover, wide variations in alcohol-related aggression found in cross-cultural anthropological studies highlight the importance of cultural expectations in determining alcohol's effects on aggression (MacAndrew & Edgerton, 1969). Cultural expectations can influence how alcohol is consumed and experienced as well as differentiate those drinking situations where aggression is most likely to occur. In addition, individual differences within a culture in expectations regarding the effects of alcohol on aggression or the acceptability of aggression in drinking situations may predict which individuals will become aggressive when they drink. …