The Effects of Alcohol on Aggression Levels - Essay Example

The Effects of Alcohol on Aggression Levels Bergman and Brismar (1994) that there is a consistent relationship between violent behaviour and alcohol abuse. Whenever there is alcohol involved, people tend to be carefree and they often result to social behaviour that is considered undesirable (Parrot, Zeichner and Stephens, 2003). Collins and Messerschmidt (1993) claim that both victims and perpetrators of violent misdeeds such as murder, rape, assault, domestic violence and rape are likely to have taken alcohol before the occurrence of the crime. Such cases of aggression are more likely to occur among males aged between 16 and 40 years as opposed to older men (Bergman and Brismar, 1994). Goliath (2010) notes that expectancies related to alcohol consumption promote aggression in men. In women, the common belief that intoxicated women are more vulnerable and sexually receptive may account for the high rape cases that occur after drinking. Subra, Muller and Begue (2010) argue that alcohol does increase aggression w\even without being consumed. The authors point out that “people do not need to drink a drop of alcohol to become aggressive”. They claim that exposure to alcoholic cues is enough to trigger aggressive behaviour. According to McCrae (1989), older people are more capable of dealing with stress than younger people. He says that younger people “tend to use some less effective methods, like hostility reactions to others, more than older adults” (164). This observation is supported by research done by the World Health Organization, which outlines how young people are more vulnerable to aggressive behaviour when under the influence of alcohol, or when in an alcoholic environment (World Health Organization Report, 2006). A higher degree of aggression among younger men as compared to the older ones may be due to high levels of testosterone in the younger men (Winder and Wesson, 2006). According to the authors, low doses of alcohol have the potential to cause an increase in aggressive behaviour which can be explained by the presence of higher levels of the testosterone hormone in the case of younger men between adolescence and 25 years. This observation is supported by other research done by Parrot, Zeichner and Stephens (2003), in which the authors found that younger males who have higher testosterone levels in their systems often engaged in aggressive behaviour when provoked. However, according to the researchers, older men in the same situation were less likely to be aggressive since they had higher levels of serotonin and lower levels of testosterone. Studies show that the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption by an individual impacts the level of his/her aggressiveness. In other words, those who consume more alcohol or who frequently take it, are likely to be more aggressive compared to those who consume less in quantity and frequency other factors held constant. Younger men who consume a lot of alcohol are likely to succumb to provocation which can lead to aggressive behaviour when compared to their fellow young men who do not drink alcohol in large quantities (Bergman and Brismar, 1994). Bushman (1997) states that the relationship between alcoholism and aggression is influenced by a number of factors. Some of these factors include the pharmacological characteristics of alcohol, personality variables, factors related to the situation as well as the effects of the substance on higher order cognitive functioning (Bushman, 1997) states that the relationship between alcoholism and aggression is influenced by a number of factors. Some of these factors include the pharmacological characteristics of alcohol, personality variables, factors related to the situation as well as the effects of the substance on higher order cognitive functioning. Younger men between the ages of 18 and 30 normally have personality variables that make them to be highly aggressive in an alcoholic environment. However, men who are over 40 years of age do not succumb easily to provocations while drinking or just before drinking alcohol (Bergman and Brismar, 1994 and Pabst, Baumeister, and Kraus, 2010). Pabst, Baumeister, and Kraus (2010) also support the idea that older men are less likely to be aggressive than their younger counterparts when in an alcoholic setting. They say that demographic variables determine the kind of reaction that one should expect when a provocation occurs in a pub or a bar. The researchers point out role of personality traits and expectations that are different for young and old people. According to them, the older men, unlike the younger ones, tend to have a higher sense of maturity and responsibility which enables them to desist from involving themselves I aggressive behaviour. A few studies have been carried out to determine the relationship between expectations as pertaining to alcohol effects and aggression. McCrae (1989) found out that certain expectations involving alcoholic drinking often include aggressive behaviour. The researcher found that young men from the age of 18 to 27 often expected more alcohol effects on social and non-social behaviour when in an alcoholic situation or location than older men. This explains why young men tend to over react or act aggressively when slightly provoked in pubs or bars. Fraser, Nash and Galinsky, 2002 found that situational cues often lead to aggressive behaviour, which might be heightened when in an alcoholic situation. According to the researchers, these situational cues normally activate expectancies of undesirable behaviour that is alcohol related. This undesirable behaviour may or may not involve aggression. The researchers carried out their research in a general population made up of men between the ages of 20 and 59. They found that the younger men (20 – 29) tended to be more provoked by situational cues than their older counterparts. Two categories of models have been used to explain intoxicated aggression. These include the expectancy and pharmacological models. Expectancy-based models suggest that alcohol-related aggression grows because individuals expect it to. Research taking this line of thought proposes that people will tend to become aggressive if they believe that they have taken alcohol even if they have not. Pharmacological models on the other hand suggest that alcohol heightens aggression by interfering with the individual’s higher level cognitive functions (Pabst, Baumeister and Kraus, 2010). The disinhibition theory states that alcohol makes the mechanisms of the brain that help in restraining impulsive behaviours weak. One such impulsive behaviour is inappropriate aggression. Alcohol impairs information processing and may lead an individual to make wrong judgements regarding social cues. This in effect may lead the person to overreact to what he/she perceives as a threat. At the same time, when a person’s attention is narrowed as a result of alcohol consumption, they may make imprecise assessments of potential risks of acting violently and impulsively. Many of the studies done on the effect of alcoholism on aggression have shown that young men are more likely to have alcohol-related aggression as compared to their older counterparts. Different theories have been suggested to explain this alcohol-related aggression, with a lot of emphasis being placed on situational cues as well as expectancy and pharmacological models (Fraser, Nash and Galinsky, 2002 and Pabst, Baumeister, and Kraus, 2010). The level of such aggression has been associated with several variables including the frequency and amount of alcohol intake and age. Granted that there are several studies that have been conducted with respect to alcohol related aggression, very little has been done to establish the relationship between such intoxicated aggression and age. Considering the facts stated above, this study is dedicated to ascertaining whether 20 year old males (representing young men) will be more aggressive compared to 50 year old males (representing older) men. References Bergman, B., and Brismar, B. 1994, Hormone levels and personality traits in abusive and suicidal male alcoholics. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 18:311–316 Bushman, B.J., 1997, Effects of alcohol on human aggression: Validity of proposed explanations. Recent Developments in Alcoholism 13:227–243 Collins, J.J., and Messerschmitt, M.A. Epidemiology of alcohol-related violence. Alcohol Health & Research World 17:93–100, 1993. Fraser, M.W, Nash, J., Galinsky, M. and Darwin, K., 2002, The Making Choices Program, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. Giancola, P. and Zeichner, A., 1995 An Investigation of Gender Differences in Alcohol-Related Aggression. Volume 56, 1995 Issue 5: September. Goliath, 2010 Effects of alcohol and trait anger on physical aggression in men. Journal of Studies on Alcohol http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1554513/Effects-of-alcohol-and-trait.html McCrae, R., 1989, Age Differences and Changes in the Use of Coping Mechanisms, Journal Of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, Vol. 44, pp.161-169 Pabst, A., Baumeister, S. and Kraus, L., 2010, Alcohol-Expectancy Dimensions and Alcohol Consumption at Different Ages in the General Population, Journal Of Studies On Alcohol And Drugs, Vol. 71, Iss. 1, pg. 46 Parrot, D.J, Zeichner, A. and Stephens, D., 2003, Effects of Alcohol, Personality, and Provocation on the Expression of Anger in Men: A Facial Coding Analysis, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, Vol. 27, Iss. 6, pp. 937-945 Subra, B., Muller, D., Begue, L., Bushman, B. and Delmas, F., 2010, Automatic Effects of Alcohol and Aggressive Cues on Aggressive Thoughts and Behaviors, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 36, Iss. 8, pg. 1052 (Subra, Muller and Begue, 2010) Winder, B. and Wesson, C., 2006, Last Orders for Alcohol Related Violence: Exploring Salient Factors in the Occurrence of Violent Incidents in UK Pubs and other Late Night Venues, Confidential Report, Nottingham Trent University. World Health Organization, 2006, Youth violence and Alcohol Fact Sheet, Accessed 27 November, 2010: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/violence/en/index.html Read More