Do predisposing and family background characteristics modify or confound the relationship between drinking frequency and alcohol-related aggression? A study of late adolescent and young adult drinkers.
The present study examined whether predisposing and family background characteristics confounded (common cause/general deviance theory) or modified (conditional/interactive theory) the association between drinking frequency and alcohol-related aggression. A secondary analysis of the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth was conducted using a composite sample of drinkers, ages 17 to 21, from the 1994, 1996, and 1998 Young Adult surveys (n=602). No evidence of confounding of the relationship between drinking frequency and alcohol-related aggression was found. In addition, predisposing characteristics did not modify the association between drinking frequency and alcohol-related aggression. However, family background variables (mother's education and any poverty) were important explanatory variables for alcohol-related aggression among males, whereas recent aggression (fights at school or work) was an important predictor for females. Overall, lack of support for the conditional/interactive and common cause theories of the alcohol and aggression relationship suggests that alcohol has an independent explanatory role in alcohol-related aggression. In addition, the gender differences found in the present study highlight the need for more gender-focussed research on predictors of alcohol-related aggression, especially among adolescents and young adults.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Western Ontario, Canada, and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 100 Collip Circle, Suite 200, London, ON, Canada, N6G 4X8. swells@uwo.ca
Samantha
S
Wells
Kathryn
K
Graham
Mark
M
Speechley
John J
JJ
Koval
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology