Drugs and aggression: correlations, crime and human manipulative studies and some proposed mechanisms.
Violence and drugs seem to mix readily. In this paper, relevant correlational studies are briefly reviewed and methodological issues are discussed. With a focus on alcohol, facts pointing to some type of causal relationship are presented both from crime and laboratory manipulative studies. Dose and rate-dependent anxiolytic, psychomotor stimulant and alteration in inhibitory and problem-solving cognitive functions are each in turn seen as precipatory to aggression. Drugs other than alcohol which interact with these systems are also discussed.
Pihl
R O
RO
Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Peterson
J
J
D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000523:psychology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003415:Crime / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs