The following subsections explore some mechanisms whereby alcohol's direct effects may interact with other factors to influence the expression of aggression. Social and Cultural Expectancies.
Alcohol consumption may promote aggression because people expect it to 5. For example, research using real and mock alcoholic beverages shows that people who believe they have consumed alcohol begin to act more aggressively, regardless of which beverage they actually consumed Alcohol-related expectancies that promote male aggressiveness, combined with the widespread perception of intoxicated women as sexually receptive and less able to defend themselves, could account for the association between drinking and date rape In addition, a person who intends to engage in a violent act may drink to bolster his or her courage or in hopes of evading punishment or censure 12, The motive of drinking to avoid censure is encouraged by the popular view of intoxication as a "time-out," during which one is not subject to the same rules of conduct as when sober 14, Violence Preceding Alcohol Misuse.
Childhood Victimization. A history of childhood sexual abuse 16 or neglect 17 is more likely among women with alcohol problems than among women without alcohol problems. Widom and colleagues 17 found no relationship between childhood victimization and subsequent alcohol misuse in men. Even children who only witness family violence may learn to imitate the roles of aggressors or victims, setting the stage for alcohol abuse and violence to persist over generations Finally, obstetric complications that damage the nervous system at birth, combined with subsequent parental neglect such as might occur in an alcoholic family, may predispose one to violence, crime, and other behavioral problems by age 18 19, Violent Lifestyles.
Violence may precede alcohol misuse in offenders as well as victims. For example, violent people may be more likely than nonviolent people to select or encounter social situations and subcultures that encourage heavy drinking In summary, violence may contribute to alcohol consumption, which in turn may perpetuate violence.
Common Causes for Alcohol Misuse and Violence. In many cases, abuse of alcohol and a propensity to violence may stem from a common cause This cause may be a temperamental trait, such as a risk-seeking personality, or a social environment e. Another example of a common cause relates to the frequent co-occurrence of antisocial personality disorder ASPD and early-onset i.
ASPD is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a disregard for the rights of others, often manifested as a violent or criminal lifestyle. Type II alcoholism is characterized by high heritability from father to son; early onset of alcoholism often during adolescence ; and antisocial, sometimes violent, behavioral traits Type II alcoholics and persons with ASPD overlap in their tendency to violence and excessive alcohol consumption and may share a genetic basis Spurious associations between alcohol consumption and violence may arise by chance or coincidence, with no direct or common cause.
For example, drinking is a common social activity for many adult Americans, especially those most likely to commit violent acts. Therefore, drinking and violence may occur together by chance 5. In addition, violent criminals who drink heavily are more likely than less intoxicated offenders to be caught and consequently are overrepresented in samples of convicts or arrestees 7. Spurious associations may sometimes be difficult to distinguish from common-cause associations.
Although individual behavior is shaped in part by the environment, it is also influenced by biological factors e. Individual differences in brain chemistry may explain the observation that excessive alcohol consumption may consistently promote aggression in some persons, but not in others The following subsections highlight some areas of intensive study.
Serotonin, a chemical messenger in the brain, is thought to function as a behavioral inhibitor. Thus, decreased serotonin activity is associated with increased impulsivity and aggressiveness 26 as well as with early-onset alcoholism among men Researchers have developed an animal model that simulates many of the characteristics of alcoholism in humans. Rhesus macaque monkeys sometimes consume alcohol in sufficient quantities to become intoxicated.
Macaques with low serotonin activity consume alcohol at elevated rates 25 ; these monkeys also demonstrate impaired impulse control, resulting in excessive and inappropriate aggression 25, This behavior and brain chemistry closely resemble that of type II alcoholics.
Interestingly, among both macaques and humans, parental neglect leads to early-onset aggression and excessive alcohol consumption in the offspring, again correlated with decreased serotonin activity Although data are inconclusive, the alcohol-violence link may be mediated by chemical messengers in addition to serotonin, such as dopamine and norepinephrine There is also considerable overlap among nerve cell pathways in the brain that regulate aspects of aggression 29 , sexual behavior, and alcohol consumption These observations suggest a biological basis for the frequent co-occurrence of alcohol intoxication and sexual violence.
The steroid hormone testosterone is responsible for the development of male primary and secondary sexual characteristics. High testosterone concentrations in criminals have been associated with violence, suspiciousness, and hostility 31, In animal experiments, alcohol administration increased aggressive behavior in socially dominant squirrel monkeys, who already exhibited high levels of aggression and testosterone Alcohol did not, however, increase aggression in subordinate monkeys, which exhibited low levels of aggression and testosterone 6.
These findings may shed some light on the life cycle of violence in humans. In humans, violence occurs largely among adolescent and young adult males, who tend to have high levels of testosterone compared with the general population. Young men who exhibit antisocial behaviors often "burn out" with age, becoming less aggressive when they reach their forties By that age, testosterone concentrations are decreasing, while serotonin concentrations are increasing, both factors that tend to restrain violent behavior No one model can account for all individuals or types of violence.
Although much remains to be learned, research suggests that some violent behavior may be amenable to treatment and some may be preventable. One study found decreased levels of marital violence in couples who completed behavioral marital therapy for alcoholism and remained sober during followup Results of another study 7 suggest that a percent increase in the beer tax could reduce murder by 0.
Although these results are modest, they indicate a direction for future research. In addition, preliminary experiments have identified medications that have the potential to reduce violent behavior.
Such medications include certain anticonvulsants e. However, these studies either did not differentiate alcoholic from nonalcoholic subjects or excluded alcoholics from participation. B oth alcohol use and violence are common in our society, and there are many associations between the two. Understanding the nature of these associations, including the environmental and biological antecedents of each and the ways in which they may be related, is essential to developing effective strategies to prevent alcohol-related violence as well as other social problems, such as domestic violence, sexual assault, and childhood abuse and neglect.
Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. Beck A, Heinz A. Alcohol-related aggression. Deutsches Aerzteblatt Online. The physician's unique role in preventing violence: a neglected opportunity? BMC Med. Essential fatty acids predict metabolites of serotonin and dopamine in cerebrospinal fluid among healthy control subjects, and early- and late-onset alcoholics. Biol Psychiatry. Alcohol mixed with energy drink use as an event-level predictor of physical and verbal aggression in bar conflicts.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. The neural correlates of alcohol-related aggression. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. Impulsive alcohol-related risk-behavior and emotional dysregulation among individuals with a serotonin 2B receptor stop codon.
Transl Psychiatry. Failure to consider future consequences increases the effects of alcohol on aggression. J Exp Soc Psychol. Trait anger and partner-specific anger management moderate the temporal association between alcohol use and dating violence. J Stud Alcohol Drugs.
Biological correlates of intimate partner violence perpetration. Aggress Violent Behav. Your Privacy Rights.
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Alcohol Abuse vs. The researchers measured the participants' threshold to the electric shock pain before the experiment began to ensure that no one received a shock that exceeded what they could take.
Each of the participants was told that he or she was competing with a same-sex opponent in a computer-based speed reaction test, with the winner delivering an electrical shock to the loser. The winner determined the intensity and the length of the shock delivered to the loser. In actuality, there was no opponent. There were 34 trials, and the participant "won" half of them randomly determined.
Each time they "lost," the participants received electric shocks that increased in length and intensity over the course of the trials, and the researchers measured if they retaliated in kind. People who were present-focused and drunk shocked their opponents longer and harder than anyone else in the study," he said.
Men were more aggressive than women overall, but the effects of alcohol and personality were similar in both sexes. In other words, women who were present-focused were still much more aggressive when drunk than were women who were future-focused, just like men. Bushman said the results should serve as a warning to people who live only in the moment without thinking too much about the future.
Combining alcohol with a focus on the present can be a recipe for disaster. Materials provided by Ohio State University. Original written by Jeff Grabmeier. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Science News.
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