Citation
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (1997). Alcohol, violence, and aggression. Alcohol Alert, 38, 1-4.
Main objective
To examine the association between alcohol consumption, violence and aggression and the brain’s participatory role in regulating these behaviors.
Background
Violence and alcohol can go hand and hand. It is believe that there are relationships between violence and alcohol, but the relationships can vary and result in different outcomes. Hormones, such as increased level of testosterone, can possibly lead to an increase in aggression. Social and cultural expectations can potentially play a part in increased violence when alcohol is consumed. Parental influence, both biologically and emotionally, can act as a determinant for violence and alcoholism.
Method
Unit of analysis: N/A
Sample: N/A
Measures: Subjects administer shocks to an opponent to measure reaction time both under the influence of alcohol and sober.
Analytical technique: Subjects exhibited an increased aggressiveness with an increase in alcohol consumption, but only when the subject felt threatened.
Results
Results based on some published studies state that 86% of homicide offenders, 37 % of assault offenders, 60% of sexual offenders, 57% of men and 27% of women involved in marital violence and 13% of child abusers were drinking at the occurrence of the violent. As a result of different study, 42% of violent crimes reported to the police involved alcohol and 51% of victims claimed their offender had been under the influence of alcohol. Results of the article show that violence and alcohol use can be a bidirectional relationship. Results of another experiment show that only when a person is threatened or provoked does violence ensue, leading one to believe that it is not alcohol itself that causes violence.
Conclusions
The author concludes stating that a single model cannot adequately represent all types of violence...
