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.
Wells
Samantha
S
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
Graham
Kathryn
K
Speechley
Mark
M
Koval
John J
JJ
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